The same happend to my dear Sister she died in the end💔😔 so many inkompetente doctors!!! Ty for sharing this 🙏 always follow your gut feeling so many bad doctors ,so always nag and demand attention!!
Omg, my diagnosis and biopsy went so quick for breast cancer! I found the lump and everyone was so supportive in medical field! I feel terrible for you! If they are so ignorant and set in their ways, they need to retire!!
Before a knee replacement I went to a cardiologist. Seeing my bloodwork, which I repeated, she sent me to a hematologist. Via google I saw it very probably was leukemia. I (my wife) succeeded to get me a consult with a hematologist within two days. The hematologist told me she thought I had chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) but I needed to do some more bloodwork. She explained all about CLL and tranquilized me really a lot! I went there with my wife and a friend because I wanted to listen very well, ask the right things for me, and not to forget later what she'd said during the consult. A lesson learned? May be if I had another cancer diagnose (second cancers are not rare in CLL) I would panic again, but I also would realize that I was alive and that reality is much easier to handle than imagination. Second, do always take another person to the consult, he or she remembers what was said and maybe intimidate brute doctors like Nadia met a bit! Very sad and revolting to know how Nadia was treated by doctors who should have been her safe haven!
@@CKLee-rs4klDr shortage so you get what you get. Medical field is about money now nurses and Dr's don't go into this field for patients care any longer. It's all about the money. Get the same amount weather they listen to you or not. It's easier to not😢 ............
I suggested she take the time to write a letter to each & every so-called expert that didn't do their job, properly and comprehensively. I did that with my kitty's veterinarian I had seen for almost 11 years. I was so disappointed & frustrated with his lack of concern over my pets health. I tactfully worded a brief letter. Surprisingly, I got a polite response but ego reigns supreme with too many doctors--in every field! It helped me at least get my frustration off my chest while I was in mourning for my sweet cat. Anybody who argues that the richest country in the world has the finest healthcare is very blind or ignorant.
Right like that would matter to him!! His arrogant attitude that would mean he would have to admit he was wrong.. good luck with that. The Dr just got another Dr to agree with him!! Completely ignoring her. So scary going to the Dr. Now day's. The Drs in this situation don't care about the patients, just fallow the rules and guidelines given to keep cost down. Sure would have been different if it was a member of their family, would have got tests Done A.S.A.P. keeps it from spreading and on long run ends up costing way more. Terrifying for Patient. 🤬🤬
As a nurse this is infuriating to me. I can't count how many times I stood up as the patient's advocate telling these immature residents that I've been doing this job since they were in diapers and so if I told them the patient had symptoms.....it was not an option for them to overrule my assessment. If they wouldn't order the tests I needed I would call there attending physician and get the orders I needed
Yes. As I nurse I did the same for patients. Never thought I would have to do it for myself. I believe the doctor should do no harm. If he or she does and it is a pattern. I will find another doctor.. I refuse to be abused, ignored, or subjected to the insult of gaslighting. There are federal laws to protect patients. We need more.
We so desperately have been needing people like you for the past 20 years. Not once have I, nor my mother, had a nurse or a doctor stand up for us before dismissive doctors. Finally my mother ended up travelling to Russia to do a lifesaving surgery. I had a surgery in Moscow too, but my case wasn't so dire. We went to doctors SOOO many times in Canada where we've been living. We've been dismissed, mocked, insulted, laughed at, you name it. I have -100% trust in Canadian doctors. I would rather go straight to a butcher if I didn't have other options.
I can relate. I was sick for two years, had a constant headache, abdominal pain, constant nausea, crazy high blood pressure, etc. My PCP prescribed 3 BP meds with no change. I had blood tests, MRIs, etc. which were supposedly normal. It wasn't until I physically threatened a doctor to provide a script for an MRI from head to toe at an outside facility that I got some answers. The trigger was the same condescending attitude this woman was subjected to. I had the scan and was only in the machine for 10 minutes. The radiologist said you have the largest mass I have ever seen on your left adrenal gland and if I don't miss my guess, it is cancer. I said, I have been saying this for two years and no one was listening. He told me I needed to get the h$ll out of town. So i went to Pittsburgh and was dismissed there as well. Eight months go by and they order another MRI. The damn thing doubled in size. I called and TOLD them they will be taking the SOB out ASAP. They still thought it was benign and not causing the BP issue. Prior to surgery, I spoke with the anesthesiologist in the holding area. He asked what I was concerned about. I told him I thought the tumor was a pheochromocytoma and cancer. He said, I reviewed your chart and I think you are right on both accounts. I said, Great, now I get someone to listen to me right before I go under the knife. He said, well in the OR, he, not the doctor is in charge of keeping me alive. So he said he planned on putting a central line in just in case when they remove the tumor, the blood pressure tanks he would be able to administer drugs to restore the BP. That is exactly what happened. Long story short, a pheochromocytoma along with a rare, aggressive cancer was discovered in my left adrenal gland and I ended up losing my adrenal, kidney, spleen, 25% pancreas and part of my diaphragm. At my follow-up with the surgeon, he is all apologetic saying he didn't think it was cancer or a pheo. He said, it is a rare cancer for which there is only 8 documented cases and all other patients are dead. I said No Kidding Sherlock. They were probably ignored by their doctors too!!!! I was pissed! I told him if you would have been listening to me instead of dismissing me, maybe you would have come to a different conclusion. I told him a story of an old family doctor who was a great diagnostician. I asked him how he got so good. He said, easy. I listen to my patients. If I let them talk and only ask key questions, they will tell you what is wrong. He said, God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. We are to do Twice as much listening as talking. I told the surgeon he needs to start doing that. I then demanded an immediate PET scan to see if it has spread. Fortumately, it did not. Neither did I take chemo or radiation. I went alternative methods and even though they said I only had 12 to 18 months to live, it is 12 years later and I am still around, Thank God!!!! Perhaps instead of teaching "Pompus Ass" to the 400 level, they need to teach listening skills and bedside manners. So done with doctors.
Wow what a great story so glad you're still alive to tell it you used your own powers of intuition and everything else so wish doctors would listen. Women are especially blessed with intuition as we have to use our intuition to keep ourselves alive in the animal kingdom it would be our intuition we use to sense things with our children and our Intimates so it only goes that we would have more intuition when it comes to our own bodies and medical things. So far I've diagnosed two of my boyfriends with some unusual things due to listening to their life stories childhood and so forth and putting two and two together also now being able to use the iPad to read up on these things you get a hunch you go down the rabbit hole reading up on something and you come up with a good diagnosis since we have more time to concentrate on these things the doctors should listen to us.
Yeah, so many doctors scoff and blow you off anytime you tell them you "read" anything. "Dont confuse Google with my doctorate" or whatever. The only reason why we are researching and reading about symptoms, diagnostics, etc. is because the doctors don't listen to us. So we have to our own legwork, without the advantage of having a medical degree. The only resource we have, since doctors won't listen, is medical websites. I don't know what it is... Overwhelm? Widespread burn out? Just not wanting to deal with another medical issue? I told my GP, on the back of my neck, at one of the vertebrae, there is a clicking, moveable hard piece of bone. Like I can push it left and right with my hand and hear and feel it crunching. I have electric zaps that go to my shoulder. He didn't even touch the area, just briefly glanced at the side of my neck. I had to request x-rays. Bone spurs, narrowing disc space, reverse curvature of the neck, apex of vertebrae in the wrong location, spinal stenosis. Still never even treated for it. Mayo clinic and other medical websites are more helpful.
I've been a recipient of medical gaslighting as well and it makes you start to question your reality. It took me 5 years to get a systemic lupus diagnosis. When you mentioned how your family started to not believe you, well that really hit home. My husband casually mentioned one day that even my doctor couldn't find something wrong and I shriveled inside. The take away from is to believe in and love yourself. ❤️
I found a breast lump when I was 27, several doctors dismissed me because I was “too young for breast cancer”. Luckily I already had a relationship with a good surgeon and went to see him. He got me scheduled for ultrasounds and a mammogram, and ultimately a biopsy. He saved my life as I was diagnosed stage I breast Cancer. 20 years later he performed my bilateral mastectomy for my second diagnosis, this time stage II. My surgeon and oncologists are fabulous. You have to advocate for yourself, and you have to educate yourself.
And……if you can’t advocate for yourself, you need someone by your side who can. My sister came within a fraction of a millimetre of becoming paralyzed from the waist down because her family physician didn’t listen to her.
Omg!!! I can relate to her just being dismissed and not heard! I spent years (probably close to at least 20 years) being told that there was nothing wrong me; that I was just "drug seeking." I finally got so ill that I could no longer move and was on oxygen full time. I ran across a new Dr in a neighboring state (up to this point I had been to both Mayo clinics and doctors from coast to coast all telling me that it was all in my head) and got an appointment to be seen within hours. At this appointment I was told that I was actively dying and probably had less than 3 months to live. He would do everything within his power to help me, but that it was probably too late. I was diagnosed with a very rare form of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. That was in 1992 (it is August 2022 now). Needless to say this Dr saved my life. I will never have the luxury of going into remission, but I am alive and can truly say that now I truly live every moment that I'm on this planet. I sincerely hope that you have a blessed day!
OMG!!! As soon as I read "Drug Seeking", I knew you are an Angel 😇 / Warrior! I've been living with RSD/CRPS for almost 20yrs!! I'm going through the same thing, the doctors and nurses have no clue about this condition, and seeing as though I'm the one living in pain 24/7... What do I know??? 😆🤣😂 I wish people knew how strong we really are! Also, the condition has the word PAIN in it.. you think they'd know how to treat us?? Take care and stay blessed! 🙏🧡🧡🙏
Patients should be able to sue! For not treating people!!! Period! As well if a doctor can’t treat you since it’s in the head should not be required to pay office visit.
The gaslighting towards females is especially egregious… her story is so upsetting. They treat you like you have female hysteria and need a laudanum tincture followed by a nap. It’s INSANE how much patients have to fight to be heard. Even looking at her photos around that time her face and eyes wear visibly swollen! I feel so incredibly invested in her story and thankful she did not give up 💜
I have been suffering gaslighting at GPs in UK for years.Its even worse if you are seeking mental health care.They demonise you and say every inflammatory thing about you but refuse you any help.then Gaslight you more when you get annoyed about their attitude.then they threaten you.Ive given up.
@@anyatranter5588 thank you for sharing your journey with me.. I’m so sorry for that. And yes, even here in the States mental health care is a joke. Unless you’re wealthy it seems nearly impossible to be heard and taken seriously. I completely understand and I do hope that you can have better luck. I’d given up for almost 2 years and am now just starting to try again.
Women don't get taken seriously. It's always just in our heads. I'm pretty good though getting Drs to do what I want because I first consult Dr. g*ogle. I hate most Drs. Arrogant and very often badly trained/ignorant if something is out of the odinary.
@@cs.0903 A bunch of us in my old workplace were in the break room, talking about this. One of my coworker had recently been diagnosed with ovarian cancer after being told over and over that she just had anxiety and the pains were caused by that. But every single woman in the room-and there were eight or ten of us-had a similar story about being dismissed by doctors when they actually had a serious or potentially serious health issue. One woman almost hemorrhaged to death because her OB/Gyn was on vacation and the guy subbing for her told her on the phone that “‘you women’ are always talking about your bleeding issues and it’s never anything serious.” He told her she’d be fine. Luckily a girlfriend came over, saw all the blood and took her to the ER. She said the last thing she remembered hearing was “I can’t get a pulse!” Another girl suffered for months with terrible pain because the doctors she saw while at school told her there was nothing wrong and she just had anxiety. She said she thought she was losing her mind by the time she went home and saw her family doctor. That doctor sent her to the hospital to have her gallbladder removed. I had heart palpitations, hot flashes, my blood pressure shot up, shortness of breath, and muscle spasms. I finally got to a GP in my regular doctor’s office, and he just looked at me and told me I had anxiety. He didn’t even try to listen to my heart, just decided by looking at me, I guess. It turned out I was having a bad reaction to an herb I had been taking regularly that I thought was completely safe and hadn’t thought to tell them about when they asked what medications I was taking. I know that that part was my fault, but I was told I could have had a stroke if I had just gone along with that doctor who hadn’t even pretended to examine me. Every woman had a story like that, but most of us lived through it. Unfortunately, the woman who had ovarian cancer didn’t. She was gone within a year.
I'm a nurse and that biopsy incision looks...I can't find the words. It is such a hack job that I don't believe any of the surgical staff have had any medical training! You should sue every one of the Dr.s that ignored you, not just for your self but to protect any other person that may get stuck seeing these same Dr.s !!
It is very difficult to sue doctors in Canada. The payout needs to be almost guaranteed and worth over $200,000 or something before a lawyer will look at you.
so am not in the wrong saying they did a bad job. my c section scars looked way better than that going back 22 years ago when they were not done like the closure in plastic surgery. I think she got some bad medical doctors that do not know what they are doing and knew so they kept dismissing her. Why she went back to them, idk.
My son was also dismissed. He passed away from Lymphoma at the young age of 39. This happens far more than it should. He was dismissed until he woke up paralyzed and died 51 days later.
So so sorry. I am a nurse and I advocate for my patients and many times the doctors don’t even listen to me. The medical field is such garbage, full of abusive, gaslighting pompous jerks.
My husband found lump on throat, grew from pea to almond in two weeks. Cat scan supposedly showed no reason for concern, no lymphatic involvement. Told to just keep eye on it. Hubby wanted 2nd opinion because his risk of cancer high due to kidney transplant. The 2nd doctor said because of risk, he agreed to go in and take biopsy. Turns out when they cut, they immediately suspected cancer from look and it was in lymph nodes. They removed several lymph nodes, it was aggressive cancer. Followed up with radiation. Had he listened to first doctor the outcome I’m sure would have been different. I have many horror stories of being gaslighted by doctors
I’m in the same path as your husband. They found a big mass in my uterus and doctor said its nothing and settled surgery for me in 11/14. I don’t have any exms in my hands I don’t have any report about what I have I don’t even now the of the cancer they found. The biopsy came back as benign, but I really want one second opinion. I’m bleeding more than a month and even with the medicine he gave to do not stop the bleeding. I have cramps like I’m delivering a baby!! If it os benign why I have this cramps and can’t stop the bleeding? I have blood transfusion a monte ago , and now infusion , I was very anemic because I lost a lot blood.
Kelly, are you perimenopausal? PCOS, or Endometriosis? The bleeding can sometimes be endometriosis, some doctors do a partial hysterectomy, which in my opinion is a big NO, keep your body parts. Usually an IUD with progesterone will stop the lining from building and eventually the bleeding. You say surgery… are they removing the mass or your uterus?. Please. please go get another opinion and if needed more test. Don’t let a doctor cut until you understand everything. I know hard to do when soooo tired, probably heart palpitations with slightest movement. I’m so very sorry, sending prayers your way ❤️
Can relate to this so much. Fobbed off with "colitis" four months later got a sig (via my GP, they found a tumour that's nearly blocking my bowel completely. Have been told subsequently that they didn't spot it as i am "Too young" my reply was that my age shouldn't be able to affect their eyesight.
I was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia at 43 and was told I was too young, also. Thankfully, the oncologist did the tests anyway and was shocked that I actually do have it. Thankfully, I'm in remission right now.
@@angiebshouse you can advocate all you want. They only believe that people have mental illness, are attention seeking and just need an antidepressant.
I went to the doctor with a lump in my breast, he told me it wasn’t cancer and he refused to give me an RX for a mammogram. I insisted that I didn’t care what he thought and that I wasn’t leaving the office without one. He explained that his 30+ years of work was enough and that I should just listen to him. I didn’t. I explained again that he better give me one( my insurance required an RX for a mammogram). He finally did. 3 weeks later, I had it done….stage 4 breast cancer. I am still under care, it’s been over 5 years. You have to be your own advocate. You must insist if you think there is something going on…you know your body. Fight the fight with positivity, love, diet, and in my case a lot of loud music. My family was a blessing! Fight for yourself!
Just happened to my daughter....new doctor, new country (not the U.S.)...she has breast cancer & already had 3mos. of chemo under her belts & 3 more to go then surgery.........I want to go after the doctor in New York City in the United States..who basically told her "We don't normally do mammograms" for females under 40yrs. old".....WTF..I want to hunt him down.....5yrs wasted to catch this early.
This is heartbreaking to hear. I am so sorry you had to go through this! We are doing a follow up story (more on medical gas lighting). Would you be able to do an interview and share your story? If so, would you be able to email us at community@thepatientstory.com.
I think these types of Doctors need to loose their licenses and not allowed to practice any longer. I was missed diagnosed for 10+ years when I knew something was wrong with me. I keep having these intense headaches, fatigue, blurred vision, flashing lights, nausea, vomiting, smelling burning all the time, feelings of hitting a wall in daily activities. Then it took loosing my hearings and getting a referral from an audiologist to find out I had a brain tumor the size of an orange. I’m glad you got heard and some good drs helped you. 🙏
As a retired family practice doctor, I will say that our health care system absolutely sucks. I wouldn’t have let the lymph node under your arm go more than a month,with or without other abnormal findings and a needle biopsy is so benign. Tragic story!
Years ago a co worker of mine had a lump near her righ armpit. Her then doctor told her it was nothing. A year later she was diagnosed with breast cancer in her right breast. Ya think, had the doctor not pooh poohed her lump, she may have been diagnosed sooner? She was in remission for many years but, 11 years after diagnosus, at the young age of 51, she passed away from cancer. Maybe, had she been properly diagnosed in the beginning, she might still be with us.
@Drtracy I am going through this at this very moment. The sad thing is, it's been going on since I was 35 and I'm now 62. I was diagnosed with Lupus by one Dr., then another said it wasn't Lupus. I now have stage 3 renal disease, (I'm not a diabetic), I have a Duodenal mass that was found last year. I have to have an EGD every 6 mos. because the Gastro Dr. is "keeping an eye on it". Just had one yesterday and 2 biopsies were done. I also have something called Brunner's Gland Hyperplasia. I have nodules on my Thyroid that have been biopsied. Right now it is so swollen it's hard to swallow. I have nodules under my skin on my arms and some on my legs. Some are large, some are small, but there are so many of them it's hard to tell where one ends and one begins. I have been passed around from Dr. to Dr. I feel for this poor lady!
We need more like you !! Thank you for the Doctor you are. My sister has CLL . Her doctor told her all kind of things before she was finally diagnosed. I told her she needed to go to someone else. She had lymph node under arm swollen that finally the breasts spec found. But it was when her last blood work was done that they were shocked and called the next day !! She is holding her own at this time. She has the slow and faster type. She is under the care of the oncologist that I saw/see for my breast cancer. I can't believe the doctors she saw !! 😥😥
@@brenny6190 we find it easier to advocate for someone else rather than for ourselves. Please keep looking for the right doctor. Some graduated at the bottom of the class, some at the top. Some have a real passion for doctoring, some just need a job. You are worth the effort to find a group of physicians who are willing and able to help you. Sending you love.
Happened to me too Was getting terrible gastrointestinal symptoms. My doctor diagnosed me with acid reflux. Knowing this didn’t sound right and changed doctors. I was subsequently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was admitted for surgery within two weeks. My first doctor almost cost me my life
I’m sorry you had to experience that. I hope you will consider writing your first doctor to let him know he made that error. Perhaps it will make him more thorough and save someone else’s life.
I’m sorry that happened and am hoping you are OK. Do mind telling others what your symptoms were so maybe someone else will be aware, alerted? How did you get proper diagnosis and what led you to believe it wasn’t acid reflux?
This is tragic. Apparently it's also a very common experience. It's also a crime against humanity. The real question is why are so many people getting aggressive cancers?
I’m literally going through 95% of this. I’m 28 and doctors keep dismissing me…I have fibromyalgia and I keep getting “it’s your fibromyalgia” or “ it’s your anxiety disorder”. “Don’t worry about it”. This is scary. I think I better advocate for myself now seeing this.
What is the acidity of your interstitial fluids that surround your cells and organs? I bet severely acidic indicating acidosis. Doctors aren't trained in this. Electrons power the mitochondria, and alkaline fluids provide those electrons. Acid solutions steal electrons. Energy production results in acidic exhaust. If you have acidosis, the best thing your body can do is shut down all excess energy to minimize acid production. You seem serious about trying to improve. I recommend the following 3 books (in order)... 1. Cure Your Fatigue by M. Robbins 2. The pH Miracle Revised and Updated by Dr. Robert O. Young ND, PhD 3. The Soy Zone by Dr. Barry Sears, PhD Search the names of the three programs on youtube... 1. The Root Cause Protocol 2. The pH Miracle 3. The Zone Diet
@@wellnesspathforme6236 wow I've never even heard of this. Thanks! I have a hiatal hernia and I have acid reflux all the time. But my symptoms are more of low acid in stomach because I was on Nexium for 8 years and I think it's done damage. But I will explore all this. Thank you so much for the information! I hope you are able to feel better soon!
I am a licensed Physician Assistant with over 40 years of clinical experience. Such is the American HealthScam System! Disgusting. I am so sorry this happened to you and too many to count other patients. When a medical professional "dismisses" your concerns....PLEASE NEVER GO BACK TO THAT PERSON AS HE/SHE CANNOT BE TRUSTED...EVER!
I experienced the same, finally could barely walk was reduced to crutches have been an avid athlete most of my life, stopped by the Dr Clinic and refused to leave until I received a referral to a lab for a full blood count, I told him what I needed to be done. The little man said "my first wife died of cancer, the second through an accident, so get over it"! I responded with well I'm not your third, I'm a patient with extreme symptoms. Finally, two days later he contacted me to say "the ambulance is on its way, and you are dying", arrived at the hospital a young Doc apologized for the ignorance I experienced😱, then while being attached to all tubes the duty oncologist claimed I had max eight hrs left followed by his nurse asking if I had arranged my funeral procedures? Seriously? I'm in NZ. That was August 2016 now due to medical negligence this has developed into WM with BN Syndrome and PN.
The problem is they continue to hurt the next patient! I would write a tactful, factual letter of how their lack of competence affected me & certainly would inform them how serious their mistake(s) turned out to be. It's just 1 less thing I "got off my chest" & could help the patient feel better doing so.
So, how do we take back OUR healthcare system? Why do doctors not lobby against the interests of Big Insurance and Big Pharma? Patients, which all healthcare employees also are, suffer the most.
This poor woman. Her story made me cry. I'm so sorry you went through so much trauma. Both your physical pain you couldn't "prove" and then doctor's claiming it was all anxiety. PTSD is huge and many times it isnt from the actual illness itself but from trying to find 1 doctor that believes you are experiencing so many issues. Breaks my heart how dismissive everyone was to her.
I know this one myself, still on the mystery tour of my own body. I feel somewhere in my file is a note that says, trouble maker. You most likely now do have PTSD from your doctor's appts, pretty sure I do. I live by the rule if they do not show up with advice that makes sense, kindness, and an open mind if they can not comprehend that I live in this body every moment of the day, I do not go back.
I've had this happen to me. They also thought I was having an anxiety attack but I wasn't. It's just ridiculous how many doctors there are in this world & you have to literally jump through hoops to find one that gives a damn.
I was experiencing the worst cramps I ever had and was having lots of clots. I went to my NP and she dismissed it saying I was just going into menopause. It got worse and after 2 months I was passing clots that were very large and was incapacitated by the craps. I took a photo of some of the clots so she could see that yes, they are large! She then referred me to an OB. Come to find out, I had endometrial cancer. Her dismissal almost cost me my life!
@@Starfish2145 In my state, you can only sue for malpractice if they amputate the wrong limb or you die. I would have had to die and hopefully my husband could have won a case.
Same happened to me. I was 35 and losing weight and was exhausted. I was told it was stress since I had just been in a bank robbery. I ended up having Stage II breast cancer and Lyme disease. I found the lump myself. They do not take young women seriously.
I know exactly how she feels.Its like you're falling apart & everyone around you is watching doing nothing.I too was told that everything was anxiety.I'm vitamin D deficient & I had to continuously push for Bloodwork that's how I found out.I sympathize with this lady because my current PCD is just as dismissive.She will no longer be my PCD I've recently switched.
This is happening to me now! Chronic non alcoholic pancreatitus Pamcreas atrophied, but scan said difficulty identifying pancreas....argued with me about whether it said that. Sent me to hospital only observed me 24 hrs. One month later, i still can't eat, feels like two baseballs on right and left. Refuse to do anything Said i have pain meds at home and water. I don't care about the pain much, i want to know how to get better and what's wrong!!!! I have been to ER 3 TIMES. HE SENT ME ONCE! i have also had metastatic lung cancer, botched surgery. Refused to say why it says metastatic. I think they just are seeimg me, but refuse to TREAT ME. SOOOO SCARED. this just touches the surface...the surgeons assistant said...we really did a number on you didn't we!? Have been fighting to stay alive for basic care almost passed three or four times Having to try and figure out how to take dr myself
I also have a medical condition (Hashimoto's thyroiditis), but was dismissed as "just being anxious". Eventually, my (amazing) Dad threatened to sue them, and then all of a sudden I received an official diagnosis and medication.
I was diagnosed decades ago, had changed providers during several years of cancer treatments and a new provider continued to ask me why do I think I have thyroid disease because I don’t, my labs are fine. After a year of fighting for it I finally got an ultrasound and the ultrasound results literally said “ signs of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis” and she STILL argued that I didn’t need an endocrinologist since my labs were fine. I changed providers, got straight into endo and he’s was appalled and unsure how I was still standing upright because it was bad. Hashimoto’s is frustrating because it’s so undertreated correctly until we’re deathly sick
Happened to me in 2013. Was 23, in congestive heart failure, couldn't stay awake for more than an hour. Doc's advice was to "join the peace corp" as "I didnt know what I wanted to do with my life". Took over 5 visits just to get an EKG, by the time I had the echo my EF was 40. Doctors are not god, they are not supremely intelligent (I say this as I have worked with them at a very high level over the last decade), and YOU know your body better than anyone. Please advocate for yourselves and your loved ones.
I have CHF with AFib and COPD. Im on supplemental O2 24/7. I recently had some pulmonary tests done and the doctor, whom I had just met, told me "I dont think you have COPD". I was dumbfounded. This isnt my first rodeo. I crashed due to a virus in 2001 so Ive been ill a while. My cardiologist was speechless when I told him. Even idiots can become doctors if they can afford med school.
In my experience doctors think they are geniuses, at the top intellectually, although studies show they aren't. They are above average, but not in the top tier. It's how they're trained - to be arrogant and conceited. I also find they cling to what they learned, they are not original thinkers or good problem solvers. So many also seem to feel contempt/indifference towards their patients. I really dislike having to deal with doctors and hope I never get seriously ill.
I completely agree with you that we all have to be our own advocate. Sadly, not everyone can do that if they live alone & maybe too sick to fight to be heard.
I have such a similar experience with doctors, it's infuriating. I've had symptoms such as fatigue, body pain, abdominal cramps, jaundice, brain fog, extreme constipation and other life degrading symptoms since I was 12, I'm 33 now, and have been dismissed by so many doctors. One stupid old male doctor even told my mom that "girls my age" meaning teenagers, sometimes make things up for attention, insinuating I was faking my symptoms. I don't know how I could fake jaundice, rashes, sudden brown blotches and spots appearing on half of my body(they look like liver spots over a huge "birthmark" to me) and blockages because of my constipation, but ok. One dismissed a goiter saying it was probably mono, without even doing any testing, because I was a teen also. Turns out I have thyroid disease that I was recently diagnosed with because my symptoms got so bad, I practically had to beg my doctors to believe me and luckily my gyno at the time was filling in for my regular dr, and she reluctantly sent me to get some proper labs done. I'm pretty sure there's something else also going on, but I give up. I'm too tired and depressed, and I know drs will never take me seriously cause I'm female and look young.
Please don't give up! You owe it to yourself to keep fighting. You've gone through so much pain and anguish for so long there's no point in just giving up. If you're able to get at least one of your conditions diagnosed, you can find out whatever else is causing you problems. It's not easy but I wish you the best, your story sounds so intense and it makes me so upset how a doctor could just brush off such serious symptoms.
Went through same thing back in the 60s. Finally brought in the blood clots because they were telling me that I was a drama queen and that after I had a baby this would all go away . What a stupid thing to tell a teen; did they want me knocked up? BTW the first words out of my mouth after my son was born at age 27 was : my periods were worse pain you lied! At age 16 I was put on the pill which helped with both pain & bleeding but it wasn't till I was 38 that I got the thyroid diagnosis [was off the pill] and realized the source of most of my issues. Also Synthroid did not work because I was mercury poisoned from a mouthful of amalgams and could not convert T4 to T3 so I used Armour & now Cytomel which gave me a new lease on life. I used a basal body temperature test to convince doctor because the TSH test is not as great as they all think it is. If your morning body temperature [before you rise] in the armpit is 97.2 or below consistently ;you ARE low thyroid. Broda Barnes MD author Hypothyroidism the Hidden Illness.
I had all those symptoms at 38 found out I had stage 3 thyroid cancer. My sister has thyroiditis. A golf ball in my neck and all those years Dr felt my neck and symptoms and never said anything. It was found because I had bronchitis and my white blood cell count was high. Ultrasound then fine needle biopsy. Been living this way 10yrs almost. It's metastatic to the lymph nodes.
I wanted to watch this because I also went through something similar but it was too hard! My heart goes out to all of us because if doctors ever just said, "I believe you but I have no idea what's wrong" we would be better off.
I’m soooooo happy to see a Chanel like this because we ALL need to be talking about it! I have as we been medically gaslit & narcissistically abused by “Medical Professionals” for over 20 years! I new I had MS (multiple sclerosis), because my mother has it. Thank you for sharing these stories! I’m ready to do the same! 🙏🏻💞
Thank you for sharing. You are not the only woman this happened to. Anxiety is a sign and symptom of many types of cancer but it is often taken as “in our head”.
This is a BIG ALARM to ALL…NO matter what age you are, symptoms, etc. YOU are your own advocate and if a doctor doesn’t listen…..find one that does. AND I hope this woman (and others that weren’t heard by a doctor) went back to the doctor/doctors who dismissed her and said …..”I want to thank you so much for dismissing my feelings, symptoms, and pain. Because of your horrible treatment and misjudgment and through my own perseverance and insistence I was able to find a REAL doctor that diagnosed me with cancer! Hopefully it’s caught in time however if you would have really listened to me in the first place…..I would have started treatment sooner.” UGH!!! This is soooo frustrating!!! 😫
I can't wait for that day. Right now I'm dying from "nothing". 5 years ago I was misdiagnosed with lupus. I had a ton of sudden health changes, swollen fingers needing prednisone, sepsis, itchy skin, Dark and light Spots all over my body, Severe joint pain ( Diagnose with fibromyalgia), Heart Palpitations, Inability to walk any distance or climb flight of stairs, Shortness of breath, Severe anxiety, Fatigue to the point sometimes I can't get out of bed, A stiff finger; Now deformed. Severe pain And Bloating after eating, Neck pain, ( Years ago it could only be cracked by a doctor) About 9 months ago it began cracking cracking constantly with every movement. That scares me a lot. Short term memory loss, No strength. dramatic changes to the way I look... In the 1st year I had an unintended weight loss of 50 pounds. I'm losing all my teeth despite never having a cavity until age 30. Insomnia, Overgrowth of keratin around my nails, Sudden onset of reynauds syndrome, and more I'm sure doesn't come to mind. I had a blood test confirming a gene one must have in order to be diagnosed; the other criteria is clinical presentation of symptoms (you need three) as well as a score on the skin thickening scale. I changed the doctor I saw (And had a great patient doctor relationship)for 30 years when he retired. Went through several primary care doctors throughout this time, 2 have left the practice, I'm seeing another in about a month. An official diagnosis will come with relief. Since this is terminal, I really don't care what kind of diagnosis they give me as long as I get something... So my family doesn't say "well, she died of nothing". Nobody seems to think how serious this really is. I'm so very tired, And I've been dismissed by so many so called "professionals" It's sickening. The only thing I want taken off my record is a is a mandatory hold in a psych unit In a major hospital. When this 1st started, I thought it could potentially be parasites. (With my travel and animal history that certainly could have been the case). It was a teaching hospital in the intern made the 1st decision, and then I was transferred for another mandatory 5 days. I was absolutely flabbergasted, Yet they refused to let me see a dermatologist to at least look at my skin and observe what was going on at the time. That was demoralizing, and inhumane. Unfortunately I have no support system. I kept asking what my rights were, and if I had any recourse. They told me no... However I did have the right to request a lawyer and I would have been out the next day! The doctors there didn't understand why I was there after they evaluated me. Now when I see any doctor reads that on my record, They would assume (as would i) A fully qualified medical professional evaluated me and made a sound decision based on The fact I was a danger to myself for others, Or I gravely could not care for myself. Neither of these things were the case. My reputation was smeared right there! I didn't go back to any doctor for a very long time after that. I suffered in silence at home and just got worse. I do have a large tumor on my adrenal gland that needs to be removed; But those symptoms do not overlap with these symptoms other than the anxiety. I'm praying my new doctor will will want to do get to the bottom of what ails me, get me properly diagnosed, And let me keep working on that bucket list!
@@TwoPartyIllusion I am sooooo sorry you are going through this. I hope and pray your new doctor LISTENS to YOU! It boggles my mind when people show signs/explain symptoms of something going on with their body and the “professionals” don’t listen to them. 🙏
What also kills me, in addition to her being outright dismissed all these times, is that she had to pay bills for all these appointments when she didn’t get ANY help!! This has happened to me in so many different ways. It is systemic incompetence and the consumer pays for it in SPADES!!! Infuriating!! 🤬
This is a major problem in the medical establishment. If they can't figure it out, it must be all in your head. A common question being, "Have you been under a lot of stress lately?" It seems to be something they are taught in medical school that becomes engrained in their practice. Every time I see a doctor I have to argue with them about my symptoms and to get them to listen before they will order any tests. They did it when I had an ulcer, for which I saw 5 doctors, but it took a nurse practitioner to finally listen and order the necessary tests where they found a huge ulcer and a large gallstone. The same thing happened when I had carpal tunnel and they were convinced it was all in my head, so they stalled about doing tests. What bothers me most is that my brother in-law went to the same clinic I did and had the same symptoms I had for carpal tunnel and they sent him for tests right away and did NOT argue with him or ask if he had been under a lot of stress. So there seems to be a prejudice. I've had so many female friends who have gone through the same thing. I find that seeing a female doctor yields better results.
I have a female dermatologist that i have seen several times but the second you ask her a question, she ramps up and gets very nasty with me. I believe she is a good doctor but needs to have more compassion and explain things to her patients!
Unfortunately once a notation is made on your chart that it's an emotional/mental issue they seem to default to that for anything thereafter. I had a history of migraines and had a really bad headache one night and then was having trouble with my left side not being able to use it appropriately with smarting and burning. The neurologist wanted to admit me to the psych unit for mental issues but luckily my private family physician said he knew me and that he knew something was wrong and had the appropriate test done it was found that I had had a temporal lobe stroke. The next day after the results came out the neurologist wanted to admit me to his intensive Care unit I told him no that the hospital and the general care unit was good for me last night it's good for me today. I stuck with my GP unfortunately that GP retired. I found a new GP that listen to his patience and had him for several years, and he is now retired. Unfortunately I have had several medical issues but it is taken persistence and being my own advocate to get the diagnosis and treatment needed. Having worsening respiratory issues with extreme shortness of breath and fatigue with minimal exertion they kept saying it was an exacerbation of my asthma and treated me with solu-medrol/ steroid and would send me home. Finally pushed and someone listened and put me in the hospital for the tests needed to find I had pulmonary hypertension. Same thing happened when I had a pulmonary storm/15 pulmonary emboli at one time (this was years before) it took me pushing and my hands turning purple/ "gloving" before they did the appropriate testing and found the pulmonary embolisms. A note on their putting things off to emotional mental situation. I was admitted to the hospital with major respiratory infection and diverticulitis for which I had been on several rounds of antibiotic and the last antibiotic was a. 'heavy hitter' and when I complained and could not use my leg to stand up they said it was emotional mental stress and wanted to send in a psychiatrist. I told them no it was not an emotional issue that there was actually something wrong they tried telling me that well you would feel that way with it being an emotional issue you wouldn't realize. They documented on my chart that I had emotional paralysis. When I had done my own investigation and noted that it was a rare side effect but yet a potential side effect of the heavy hitting antibiotic that neuromuscular and paralysis could happen I was told that oh that's so rare that's not what is happening to you. Once I was discharged after The infection and the paralysis had cleared discussing with my GP she agreed that it probably was a rare side effect to the medication. They don't report these side effects to the medications and they stay even more rare because they're not getting documented they're getting put off as emotional response..... Extremely aggravating! I could go on but I won't bore you 😁
Thank you so much for sharing this.I’m going through the same thing. It’s been 2 years of doctors, nurses and PA’s telling me I’m crazy.I have a super long list of symptoms and every doctor blames it on something else. I have never felt so alone in my entire life. I have a 5 year old to take care of and I am just so drained, sad and I feel so helpless. Now that have severe anemia and need to get infusions. The hematologist is finding something else to blame it on. I’m so done.
Dont give up! This is your life. Fight for it. Dont let them snuff you out. I fought doctors. I had cancer. I had a very scared daughter depending on me. (14) Shes grown and IM STILL HERE! Fight.
@@shuffman8094 Anemia often means that iron is overloaded in the tissues caused by a lack of ferroxidase -- a bio-active form of copper. Too.much iron is added to the food for anyone to by systemically low in it. Low iron 8n the blood occurs all the time.in people who have waaaay to much iron stuck in their tissues. The most quoted scientist on Earth, Sr. Bruce Ames, discover that there can be 10x more iron in the tissues than in the blood. Doctors are mistrained when it comes to iron metabolism. Also, the healthiest babies are born to anemic mothers. Look up "hemodilution pregnancy studies" and see for yourself. I hear 8.5--9.0 is a sweet spot. It makes sense, too. Miniature vasculature systems will do best with thinned out blood... which is thinned by reducing the hemoglobin concentration. I just explained Orwellian 2+2=4. The Rockefeller Medicine Wo/Men believe 2+2=5, and all they needed was a monetary incentive.. The damage they are doing is immeasurable... they will be shocked when they finally learn their role in global degeneracide.
My sister is and had been experiencing that same dismissal! Tens of thousands of dollars and drugs galore, because almost all docs blow her off as depressed. 😔 I am so glad you kept pressing.
I’m so sorry that you went through that! The same thing happened to me, I started seeing multiple doctors starting September of last year and they all dismissed me, called me anxious and sent me home. Now, I finally saw a doctor who told me I might have lymphoma (which I’ve been saying to every of the 7 doctors I saw prior to him, but they dismissed me). He sent me for a biopsy, but the surgeon I saw was so dismissive again! It’s unbelievable, the amount of stress we’re being put under, for nothing! Edit: oh, wow! I now got to the part of the video where you talk about your biopsy and it’s incredible, my surgeon told me the same things! That he wouldn’t do it if he were me and that it’s nothing! Unbelievable!
I've learned and I'm sure you have too, that you have to be your own best advocate, thank God for the internet, lots of reputable websites and info. They dismissed me until I had a dr. appt right after work when I was so tired that I fell off the chair while being examined and couldn't tell time on the clock. Then, took me seriously, thought I had a brain tumor, did nuero visit, tests, CT, etc. it was a severe Vit. D deficiency. >7 essentially no vitamin D in body, used up from a immune disorder that was previously diagnosed. Funny thing, the blood test for that deficiency was a benefit screening that I got at work, not doctor's office. Never, have they been interested in my vitamin levels before. After a year of shots, I'm back. Now my doctor always test me for that, and hopefully by learning from me she can help someone else. Take your Vit D3 and K2 people. My doc, never heard of K2, but without it, you don't use your Vit D efficiently. Do love my doc, because she learns from patients, rather than having an "ego block."
same to me. I have had like 14 appointments, with different doctors like radiologists, hematologist, ent, infectious disease, internist, pneumologist since may 2021 and i still don’t know why lymph nodes are enlarged.
My bloods and CT scan came out clear (I'm in the UK)! BUT I HAVE SWOLLEN lymph nodes since March, with all the symptoms (extreme fatigue, excruciating joint pains, lost over 10% of my body weight without trying, loss of appetite, sweating day and night, etc and recently moRe lumps appeared. I have tHem on my neck, underarm, groin area... Next appointment is in a week and it's absolutely fekking killing me! I want a biopsy. I am getting worse and worse. Sometimes I can barely walk because my hips hurt so bad... :(( I'm tired of trying to convince those who are supposed to help me that I AM SICK!!!!
@@AdLineamDesignsGlasgow Curious to know their thoughts on what exactly a “clear” CT means. From my understanding, CT doesn’t show if a node is cancerous, so they should really do their due diligence. I’m so sorry you’re feeling unwell :( I hope it works out well! Fingers crossed!
Any doctor that fails to accurately diagnosis or gas lights a patient needs to be reported to their states medical board. You can also look up your physician to see if they have any complaints filed against them.
One thing I always suggest to other patients who have either been dismissed or misdiagnosed, is that they later let that Dr know the dx and how vewry wrong they were.. and from there report him/her to the AMA and the Attorney General's office.
I worked with a patient who everyone knew had Hodgkin's lymphoma but it took 4 or 5 biopsies to get the diagnosis. I was a mid level provider and saw her after that final biopsy. She and her family cried with relief. She told me later that she started feeling better with the 1st cc of chemo. She finished her chemo and was cured. I also had a patient with low sodium who had an MD pound on a table to tell her she didn't have lung cancer (her sister had recently diagnosed, she was anxious too) Turns out she had small cell lung cancer that's why her CT scan was negative, so sad
My doctor litterally screamed at me and told me he can prescribe all the pills he wants I'll never get well because i have "mental health problems" causing all my health issues. Turns out my hypothroid was not properly treated( way underdosed) and i hav a chronic, officially diagnosed gut infection. Doctor's are not nice people and they don't care about thier patients only the money 99% of the time. I suppose there is 1 good doctor for every 100 bad ones.
That’s what can bring down you sodium level? My potassium two years ago dropped all of sudden it made my body start shutting down and I was getting restless leg and arms and these cramps that felt like someone was punch my muscles! And my heart was irregularly beating it would pretty much almost stop beating ! They treated me like a drug addict! As soon as they seen my blood work they rushed to get me to take 8 of these huge ass pills that tasted like pure salt 🤮
Been dealing with my potassium levels randomly dropping, I’m on special diet and have suppleness from the doctor but they never told me why it’s happening to a 23 year old! I’m now 25
@@lilyrye5651 I have that too. I was told it’s Natrimia low salt levels. The PA told me to drink more water which is the wrong answer. Too much water dilutes salt. I’m now adding salt to my foods.
It is truly concerning that a professional doctor can just dismiss a person. We know our bodies thay are not fit to work in this profession thankfully someone listened prayers keep going beautiful girl xxx
Or report them to the board. The part that irritates me on another level other than obviously putting your life in danger is that they make money off dismissing you every single time. In any other business model and industry you would get all the refunds and recompensation. But first and foremost he shouldn’t be a doctor because he literally gets in a way of you getting you a proper care that you needed so much.
That's how most doctors are gruff, dismissive, already diagnosed you without even touching you or getting the APPROPRIATE tests to diagnose, and the hypochondriac labeling. Once that "notation" is put in your chart, no medical staff takes you seriously. I've witnessed this many, many times.
Nadia,I’m so sorry you weren’t taken seriously for so long Unfortunately,a lot of patients have a similar story to yours which means a lot valuable time is wasted Wishing you all the very best .
My husband had been complaining to his doctor of being unwell. Again and again he was told there was nothing wrong with him to the point of being told it was in his head his doctor was insisting I need to have him committed into a mental ward. He seen him for the last time 72 hours later he was rushed to hospital and told within hours he had terminal cancer nothing could been done. We were in total shock my husband was so relieved I asked him why he told me it ment he wasn’t insane. We lost him 7 weeks later. In his records were results of a scan that showed his thyroid was enlarged and lymph nodes also enlarged and he should have investigate we knew nothing about it. A blood test showed his blood count had dropped by nearly 40% if only we knew what was sitting in his records
One of the things I advocate and I do for myself as well is get your records copy of everything.. that's every test every consult anything that goes into the physical record.
I am sooooo angry listening to all this abuse and lack of attention by doctors. Unfortunately I had a similar experience with a heart doctor who screamed at me as to why I had not had a test done and would not let me explain that I had had a TIA and concussion after a fall. I walked out of his office crying. And when His nurse who must have heard all the commotion asked me to make a further appointment. I told her that I would not send my dog to such a doctor. I then Reported his behavior and was opined a few weeks later and to,d to make an appointment with another doctor and they he,led me organize the test which is very involved and which I am having next week. My house doctor has been very supportive but I feel so used and meantime I have not see. A doctor for a very long time and this is my third eschemic attack Oh well vent over
This story is so upsetting. I'm glad you didn't give up. I'm sick right now and having trouble getting help. You've inspired me to keep looking for answers
This is so sad. My best friend went through a similar situation. She had a friend who was her doctor and suddenly she felt like she had ovarian cancer. She had vague symptoms and told the doctor about them. 10 years earlier she was given antidepressants by him for anxiety and what was thought to be depression. So when she told him about her concerns, 10 years later, he didn’t do any tests. He just told her to take her meds because she would stop and get the thoughts of anxiety and thought there was something wrong with her. This worrying of hers went on for months off and on and always got worse when off her meds. Her family and friends thought she was a hypochondriac and chocked it up to her being off her meds. I was one of those friends, sadly. One morning she called me in a panic thinking she was dying from cancer. She lived 2 hours away but I rushed to her side. That day she got an appointment for a woman gynecologist because my friend was convinced she has ovarian cancer. The doctor did an ultrasound on her uterus and everything was normal and even that doctor thought my friend was over reactive. We were relieved but my friend wasn’t after a few days. She contacted her friend doctor and insisted on a CT scan. He reluctantly gave in. It was found that she had spots on her liver. I was with her when she got the news it was cancer. Turns out it was bile duct cancer. She had 2 years of chemo before she ultimately passed away. She was only 51 years old. :(
I am glad I don’t have friends like she had. Doesn’t sound like anyone really cared for her. What a sad story. I am going to call all of my friends and family today and thank them for actually caring for me.
@Michelle Brie . I can see why you would think her friends and family were not caring by my comment, but I couldn’t put the whole history of years of experience with her. We all loved her dearly and wanted the best for her. I had known her since we were a year old, 50 years. We were all convinced that she had a bit of a mental issue. We can’t be faulted for that. I commuted 4 days a week for 2 years to be with her through all her treatments and to help her at home, mostly for moral support. I and her mom were with her the night she died. If that’s not a caring friend I don’t know what is. Until you walk in the shoes of another, it’s hard to judge. I miss her every day. It’ll be 10 years on September 5th since I lost my best friend. I hope you never have to experience that pain.
@Casey Avalon . Thank you for your kind comment. I replied to Michele Brie because she didn’t understand the whole story and made a judgment call on the situation. The 10th anniversary of my friend’s passing is coming up on September 5th. :(
So disheartening! I’m so so sorry you were treated this way. To be dismissed by a Dr is the most horrible feeling. We are the best judge of our own mind and body. We know when something is wrong. I’ve been unwell for the past 10 years, multiple hospital admissions and surgeries. I am a RN and I have been shocked at how many Drs /Surgeons that have blown me off and made me feel so much more worse. It’s disgusting and Drs need to stop treating their patients like this. As a nurse hearing your symptoms to me are red flags. You poor thing I’m so so sorry. I apologies on behalf of the medical profession for the way you have been treated. Hugs to you dear. Xxx
I hope she wrote to those doctors and/or his supervisors explaining what he did wrong. People never do that and the doctors are left believing that they were right, because they never hear back from the doctor again. My daughter had lymphoma around age 28 and I'm glad she had a friend who knew what was happening early in the disease.
Poor lady. I can't believe people are so dismissive. I wish we could do something about it. They are sooooo quick to say "it's just anxiety" like anxiety is nothing to be worried about as it is 😒 i hope you are doing ok.
I do not understand why western medicine doesn’t treat the mind/body as a whole and makes us go to various specialists for every single various different organ, when they’re all so interconnected so often. And we end up being treated for years for symptoms that are actually the cause of a much bigger issue because we’re sent to a dermatologist for a rash that’s actually a sign of cancer, or we’re sent to a psychiatrist for anxiety that’s actually a sign of something bigger. Also I have had “patient has anxiety” written on my chart when being tested for endometrial cancer recently, and as soon as I saw that I knew that meant I would be blown off as a “hysterical woman” and half of my concerns would be dismissed. Yeah, I have anxiety. And I also could have cancer. So I expect to be taken seriously!
Go to a nurse practitioner. We are taught to treat the whole body and mind including spirituality. Medical doctors are taught to treat the organ or symptoms. NPs and MDs use very different models of care.
Having been an RN for over 20 years, this infuriates me that so many patients fall through the cracks, and their complaints get dismissed. I have a lot of the same symptoms, and my labs are abnormal, pointing more towards (CML) chronic myelogenous leukemia. Another issue i've started having within the past couple of months while trying to figure this out is blood in my stool, as well. I'm awaiting more testing, but the waiting while knowing something is very wrong in there is rough. Prayers and best of luck to you. I'm so sorry you were stuck with doctors not doing what they went to school to do.
I was in my 30s when I started to have unexplained vaginal bleeding that wasn't my period. I felt in my soul that something was very wrong. Nobody in my family and friend circle believed me and called my a hypochondriac. By the end of the year I finally got insurance and had a visit at my new PCP. It came with a well woman exam. I was called w in the week for a follow up and was diagnosed with cancer right before Christmas. I'm in remission but the struggle is real. Thank you so much for speaking out about this crucial issue that effects so many women and young people.
This kind of thing happened to my brother. Presenting with symptoms & told its indigestion. Starts losing weight despite eating. Having incredible stomach pain going into back. Sent for gastroscope, colonoscope. Nothing wrong still indigestion. By this time his looking like a prisoner of war so thin. Put pressure on to have CT scan told them to look at pancreas. Omw he has pancreatic cancer spread throughout his body. Given 3 months to live. Been going back & forth to doctors for 3 years before diagnosis. Most doctors don't care they just there for the big paycheck. Very sad
I went through almost this same story. I still have the bloated abdomen and no one can find a reason for years. After my GP said I had a sinus infection...and the oncologist that said I had low iron...he called back and said "I AM SO SHOCKED, YOU HAVE CLL" he did not talk about cll at all... I finally went to Duke for 2nd opinion and they have been wonderful. I still can't stand my bloated stomach and bad anxiety, bad fatigue...ugh Thank you...this made me feel...NOT CRAZY also...tired of it all.
I have those exact symptoms. I had an ovarian tumor rupture when I was 13- they ignored my mom and me then, and it almost killed me. Now, the bloating, pressure- weird gut feeling, anxiety and dragging through me days- and I’m right back to when they said I was being dramatic. It’s infuriating to see others going through the same! I hope you get answers and relief!
The same thing happened to my son after a motercycle accident. His leg was shattered and he was in ICU for three weeks. His first night in ICU the nurse refused to give him more than Ibuprofin and accused my son of being a drug addict. Thank God we had a friend who was an executive at that hospital. We called her and she helped us….
My son in law had a similar experience. He was refused pain meds at hospital for an unstable fracture of fibia Weber c. He had surgery yesterday with plate screws and a pin.
This is one of the FEW real patient stories! Bless her. I’m so tired of stories where patient is socially and financially elite🤮 Even children are treated like this if dr ego doesn’t connect to patients’ parents and value their social standing. 5 states and on two drs were professionals. Of course, they stand out at life saving angels but this is ridiculous and we all still have to pay for this kind of dr harassment and neglect.
It really does seem to be true that if you have a mental health condition you are dismissed more easily. I went to the ER with severe stomach pain and the minute the doctor found out I had depression I could just see it in his face. I could see that he suddenly was not taking me seriously. I guess it's possible I was misreading him, but that's what it looked and felt like to me. They sent me home. The pain got worse and worse and it was only because of my mom taking me seriously and her driving me there that I went back. It turned out that I had a ruptured appendix. Depression does not cause severe pain. You may be more sensitive to minor pain or something like that because you are low in natural endorphins and you may get more stomach issues because there are connections between the brain and the stomach but it does not cause *severe* pain. Most people don't go to the ER for mild or moderate pain. You would think they would know that.
You are absolutely right. I am a nurse and I hear doctors talk bad about patients all the time. Especially patients with anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia.
Yep and you can totally see it in their face that was the worst part of the gaslighting for me when I knew what they are really thinking but I couldn’t definitively say what it was. The overall vibe is just hostile or patronising. I’ve had a whole ward walking around with that look and whispering about me before they started talking to me. Made me so much more ill it’s so unnecessary and confusing. I feel so sorry for this person it’s just horrible.
@@Jessicad654 Thank you for confirming that. I feel that coming from doctors at times. It's degrading. Going to someone for help for something going wrong with your body is very personal, a vulnerable feeling, and to have someone think or talk about you that way is painful. I have a hard time understanding it. If they don't go into the field caring about healing people you would think they would learn to care for people as they see people who are suffering from illnesses going to them for help. It's just completely alien to me. Even if they don't care, there should be a basic respect one gives to all human beings.
@@notmyrealaccount8564 Yes, I've felt that as well. Like I was saying to the nurse in this thread, when you go to someone for problems in your body it's personal, you're in a vulnerable state, and to be treated with a lack of respect is extremely degrading. I don't think they have any idea how painful this can be.
I had a ruptured appendix too which was initially 'diagnosed' as IBS. When my CRP levels started rising they asked whether I had a viral infection. Luckily they kept me in hospital just in case. Two days later a keyhole surgery revealed the ruptured appendix. The point is I suspected appendicitis due to how different it felt and how painful it was. Sometimes the gut feeling is right.
Good grief!! This is insane!! Why am I hearing more and more stories like this?! Tiffany*Thinks for one, now dealing with stage 4 colon cancer, because she too was blown off by doctors😡 This makes me livid.
Yes, I follow Tiffany also! It's related to being female, in my opinion. The medical establishment has gas lit women from the beginning of time. As a Nurse, I know that we need to advocate for ourselves!
I also follow tiffanythinks. I see this all the time working in psych/ health care. Psych patients are often dismissed and not medically cleared and sent directly to psych. We then have had to send them back to the hospital because they had medical problems. I have sat with our patients in the ER and watch doctors dismiss them even when they had medical problems. Physicians don’t want to deal with psych patients and think inpatient psych must deal with these medical problems. If you have a psych diagnosis all these doctors see is psych they have tunnel vision because apparently if you have a psychiatric diagnosis everything is related to that diagnosis. I have worked in Geri psych inpatient for 12 years. It makes me sick. It does not matter where you are from U.S or what state you live in. I live in CT where we have we have a better health care system then some places. But this is common place. So if you have a psych diagnosis be aware this may happen to you. It is a form of discrimination that not many people see unless you work in healthcare. It’s sad and happens often more often then people think
I’m in the midst of my own battle with dismissive doctors. I’m having regular, yet random spikes in my blood pressure along with low heart rate. These doctors these days literally don’t even touch you! And if I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard the word “anxiety” I’d be rich! God bless you Nadia. This story gives me the will to keep fighting. ❤
I'm going through this now. Started the beginning of last year with massive weight loss, shortly after a dr found a swollen lymph node under my arm. Continued to be very sick for months with no answers. Beginning of this year, things began to accelerate. Fever, night sweats, severe pain, itching, and now I have swollen lymph nodes EVERYWHERE!! Especially above my collarbone and several clusters in my neck. I've been seeing an oncologist who originally ordered labs that showed nothing major, just little things off, then the possibility of lymphoma was brought up, so then he ordered a head and neck ct which showed multiple enlarged lymph nodes (there's even more now), so then he tried to order a PET scan, which insurance denied after he fought with them about it for 2 weeks..a little over a week ago, the pain got so bad I had to go to the ER. That dr examined me and told me that there were lymph nodes all over the place, and he would 100% be thinking lymphoma or some other malignancy, and that I needed a biopsy like yesterday! So last week I went back to my oncologist, and he's calling the surgeon about doing a biopsy. Finally. And all this time, my suffering has just been getting worse and worse, to the point I literally feel like I'm dying. I'm really scared at how long this is all taking, but I'm hoping we're finally almost there.
This lady is not alone in being ignored by doctors. I also had similar symptoms and finally l went to a specialist who diagnosed cancer of the vulva and labia. Getting a good doctor is crucial.
can I ask your symptoms? I have what looks like a white pus filled nodule down there...I need to get it checked...it does not bother me but it is good size...about the size of the tip of my little finger. It does not hurt...its looks like a white pimple
Thank you so much for sharing this. My heart goes out to her wishing her a full recovery. I am going through the exact same thing with doctors. I'm going in circles with no answers, swollen lymph nodes for 6 months now, severe abdominal bloating and pain. Cat scans normal doctors don't want to do anything further, but just like her I have "the voice" in my head knowing something is wrong and i cannot find a doctor to take this serious.
Same here I’m completely bedridden most days. Unable too swallow, fits, heat intolerance, sickness, bloating, huge lumps around my neck sleep apnea, facial spasms, coughing up blood even passing blood, chest pain heart palpitations and oxygen levels drop rapidly. doctors have dismissed all symptoms and insisted in treating me for depression and 6 weeks of tonsillitis without any further tests or medication for pain relief. I’m too sick too even see a doctor. As I know it’s pointless if they are unwilling too listen I’m wasting my time trying too convince them how sick I really am. I’m at a complete loss and feel totally helpless.
Have you been evaluated for ovarian and uterine cancer? Also, you may need a CT with and without IV contrast along with oral contrast. I would see if you had contrast with your CT scans and what kind. You also should be evaluated pancreatic CA. Good luck.
I’ve had it happen twice in my life. In my early twenties and then in my thirties. The latter lasted years to finally get the diagnosis of MS. I was treated horribly by neurologists. I am now in my early 60’s.
@@nickibreuer Hi, I'm glad you got an answer. I think i might have MS, but i struggle to get diagnose. Would you mind telling more about your symptoms and how you got diagnose ? If it's too personal and you don't want to share it, i'll undestand. 😀
My MS symptoms started early teens and I was dx at age 47 already advanced to secondary progressive. "Work on your depression and the fatigue and headaches will go away..." An advanced practice nurse in urology gave me the referral to the neurologist nobody else took me seriously.
I’m 69 and doctors now days only go by what the tests say. 20 years ago, doctors would use tests to eliminate what you don’t have and from there would use medical knowledge to FIGURE OUT what is wrong. Today, I’m so sad to say, true medical evaluation is gone.
Same happened to daughter. Kept being told to young, hormones. A year later 5 surgeons at the same time, chemo and radiation. I pushed for answers no one else saw. You don't have the time to process the treatment after surviving through that. Stage 4 happens from disallowing the fact and not prioritize a scan. Cancer doesn't have to reflect in lab work and often doesn't until it's to late.
Yes and if it shows up in blood work if it isn't super high or low they just pass it up for next year's check up and don't inform you. Keep your records and read them
I had a similar experience with Kaiser Permanente. Gaslighting, accused of being a drug addict, dismissive attitude by primary physician, treatment took three years longer than needed, finally being heard by a young ER doctor who made a proper diagnosis and referred me immediately to a surgeon. This is not uncommon with healthcare systems in the Pacific Northwest.
@@raejae3755 Pacificare is even worse. I have had both. I got hit by a car, with metal in my skull and spinal injuries and couldn’t get even one night in the hospital. They just scraped the metal out of my head and stitched up my face and sent me home. A year later I found out my back had been broken.
KAISER IS HORRIBLE. They will put you off and put you off. I think they are hoping you will die before they have to pay for any diagnostic testing. My parents have received horrible care from Kaiser. Once they sent my Dad home FROM THE ER in the middle of having a real heart attack. Within 20 min of being home we called 911 and the ambulance "accidentally" took him to a non-Kaiser hospital where he immediately went to the cath lab and had stents. The ambulance crew saved his life-they knew not to take him back to Kaiser. It took 3 years of my Mom complaining about a lump, night sweats, and fatigue before they diagnosed her with terminal lymphoma. Maybe if they had listened 3 years earlier it would have been caught in time. 😡 I tell everyone to avoid Kaiser. Oh, and we're in SoCal.
I’m in the middle of the same type of reaction from docs while trying to get some troublesome symptoms understood or diagnosed. This is unforgivable. I’m so sorry for you and all the rest of us that are dealing with this.
I’m 44, and two years now I’ve had multiple symptoms and sudden extreme anxiety (that progressed after the symptoms). I’ve never in my life before 2 years ago suffered anxiety or panic attacks. I’m convinced something is medically wrong but bloodwork and tests they’ve done haven’t found anything. Now all my drs just dismiss my worsening symptoms as anxiety or I’m being a hypochondriac. It’s so disheartening and frustrating
Your story is so real. Some doctors are just lazy and lack luster in medicine. Some just want the money, when others are fully aware that they alone can't treat a patient. It takes a group who cares.
This is horrendous. My cousin had a bump that he knicked when shaving 2x’s and they dxd with Lymphoma immediately. I don’t think he had any of these symptoms. My cousin is a male. Could that be part of the issue?!?
I completely understand what she went through and have tons of compassion for her. I don’t think I have cancer, but I’ve been treated exactly the same by a local physician, PA and ER doctors, when I KNEW something was wrong. Be it fibromyalgia or long Covid or central pain from ruptured discs in lumbar. I asked many times for an MRI of spine and was told it was “anxiety.” Took me over a year to get sent to current dr ( a woman) who believes me. I’ll pray for you and I get it!
Some of the worst doctors I’ve had were women, on average they’re no damn better, they just think they are. Most doctors, all 57 pronouns of them SUCK. I know this in spades.
I have no words for the horrible, in compassionate, despicable treatment you received. I’m so sorry but I’m glad you stood your ground and received the treatment and care you deserved from the beginning
Hi Nadia, I watched your video today (09/08/24) and was fuming at the doctors who treated you so poorly. Fortunately, the second doctor you saw definitely cared for your well-being. I sincerely hope the lymphoma is in remission and that you have thought about changing medical groups. Be well, Nadia.
This story was so painful to listen to because I went through something very similar this year. Turned out to be colon cancer and I was also treated horribly. My PCP at the time told me my stomach pain (that was EXCRUCIATING to the point of me having SI) was because of swallowing post-nasal drip…because I was sniffling because she made me cry. Treated me like a drug seeker as I was sobbing knowing I was dying, and cut me off before I could tell her all of my symptoms too. It was two years before a diagnosis, and I had horrible symptoms and lab results that should have been a red flag. Then all of a sudden everyone cared after my colonoscopy showed a HUGE tumor, and surgery happened within a week of being diagnosed because I was so sick they didn’t think I was going to make it. Now I’m a nurse and I know how to talk to doctors and push back, but at some point you’re really just at their mercy if they believe you or not to investigate. And you’re already at a breaking point because you’re so sick and having to get someone to listen is just unbearable. It’s such a dehumanizing thing to go through. Thank you for sharing your story, it helped me process some of the trauma I’ve been going through 💜
Sorry you went through that! :( Do you mind sharing what red flags were in your blood test? I have been having rectal bleeding since pregnancy. Thankfully my family doctor referred me to a specialist right away but I keep postponing the appt because i think it might be caused by internal hemorrhoids from pregnancy and bad eating habits. I did a full blood work and all my vitamins and everything else is good but now I’m thinking I should still have it looked at?
@@camilapereira6772 of course! All of my normal blood work was fine but my doctor did an iron panel and I was SCARY deficient, my normal labs just hadn’t caught up yet (they eventually did but not for a while). That at least got them to take me seriously and start digging further. I’m glad your doctor is taking you seriously! I definitely think you should go to the appointment! Even if it’s hemorrhoids you’ll be able to have peace of mind. (Pro tip: if you do have hemorrhoids or GI issues a bidet is a lifesaver. I got mine for $50 on Amazon and attached it in five minutes, best purchase I’ve ever made.) And the doctor might be able to help with different solutions. Since you’re bleeding I think it could be worthwhile to ask about an iron panel just to make sure everything’s ok. Edited to add: I was feeling EXHAUSTED for a while and that was one of the big signs.
Thank you for sharing such a personal story. I really appreciate it. I’m glad you’re well now. It must’ve been so frustrating! :( there are no words. My doctor did a full iron panel already. Which was shockingly good for someone who just had a baby and is bleeding from what I think are “hemorrhoids”. My ferritin was at 40 only 4 months postpartum and my hemoglobin very good and all the other levels were within the range. He also checked for B12, vitamin D, etc and they were also shockingly high. So I don’t think I’m having issues absorbing nutrients, but you’re right I should have it looked at! Thanks for the tip, a bidet is actually a really good idea for someone struggling with hemorrhoid. Thanks a lot, you’re so kind!
I am so sorry to hear this. Absolutely heartbreaking. We are doing a follow up story (more on medical gas lighting). Would you be able to do an interview and share your story? If so, would you be able to email us at community@thepatientstory.com.
Thank you so much for sharing your story. This happened to me too. I was dying - literally days from death and finally a doctor did exploratory surgery. I lost everything - my entire life. Family thought I was suddenly crazy/did not believe me bc no diagnoses. thank you ❤️❤️
dear Pamela, what is exploratory surgery? and what did they find? trying to save my life, years upon years of dangerous and perhaps kife threatening over medication for bipolar and very sick. am getting closer just by spending most time that i don't feel ill researching since multitudes of doctors have not only dismissed me but really really harmed me, perhaps fatally
Yes! They treated you like you were a hypochondriac or crazy! I experienced this too. I knew I was sick for years. Turns out it was colon cancer. I'm so glad you're telling your story! 🙏🏻🫶🍀 Blessings!!! Cancer free almost a year🎉
My brother, father and grandfather were gaslighted by their medical team over and over, until they got to the point where they were terminal and it was too late to do anything. I was trying to get to see my doctor because I had a lump on my neck for four weeks, but the receptionist said I was not a priority and made an appointment for the end of June. After 8 weeks of having this lump, I had to put in a formal complaint in order to get seen by my GP. On Tuesday this week I finally got to see my doctor and he urgently referred me to the hospital. They phoned me yesterday and I go for scans and biopsy tomorrow, I believe I have a two to three weeks wait then for the results.
Sad. I'm glad she fought for treatment and finally got it. I hope she will be cured. This story is so moving because I am fighting for family members who are ill. Two things resonate most: 1) things that we call "mental illnesses" are really physical illness manifesting in our mental processes. I've seen in other cases where "mental" illnesses were really symptomatic of life threatening physical illnesses. 2) How hard we must fight within the medical system to get the care and treatment we need. (CT scans, MRIs very important.) I will add it is very difficult to remove carcinogens from our home, food, water but we must do our best
There is no better advocate for your health, than YOURSELF! I struggled with drug addiction and even though it's been 12 years since I've touch anything, I still have to fight to be heard... I started getting sick several years ago and constantly heard I wouldn't be getting A B or C medications and that maybe I should see a psychiatrist... It took going into liver failure to be taken a little more seriously and now it's taken going blind in one eye to be given any type of respect. I'm still struggling for a diagnosis, but I'm hopeful someone will listen to me!
Best thing I heard: “Your job is to get the doctors to find out what’s wrong with you.” Being an unrelenting advocate for yourself is so important. Unfortunately, having to work so hard when you feel so awful is really tough. Excellent interview and great storytelling.
She is a warrior! I’ve learned a lot from this video. From now on, I am my own body’s boss. I am in charge and I am a force to be reckoned with. However, I’ll try to stay nice to the doctors that are dismissing my symptoms. ❤️ Thank you for the encouragement and the timing is spot on.
We’d love to hear from you: what was the biggest lesson you learned in your own cancer diagnosis? Leave us a comment below 👇
Anxiety, fatigue, itchiness, stomach issues....... told by several doctors... loose weight.
April 2022 diagnosis..
Malignant Melanoma.
The same happend to my dear Sister she died in the end💔😔 so many inkompetente doctors!!! Ty for sharing this 🙏 always follow your gut feeling so many bad doctors ,so always nag and demand attention!!
Omg, my diagnosis and biopsy went so quick for breast cancer! I found the lump and everyone was so supportive in medical field! I feel terrible for you! If they are so ignorant and set in their ways, they need to retire!!
Before a knee replacement I went to a cardiologist. Seeing my bloodwork, which I repeated, she sent me to a hematologist. Via google I saw it very probably was leukemia. I (my wife) succeeded to get me a consult with a hematologist within two days. The hematologist told me she thought I had chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) but I needed to do some more bloodwork. She explained all about CLL and tranquilized me really a lot! I went there with my wife and a friend because I wanted to listen very well, ask the right things for me, and not to forget later what she'd said during the consult.
A lesson learned? May be if I had another cancer diagnose (second cancers are not rare in CLL) I would panic again, but I also would realize that I was alive and that reality is much easier to handle than imagination. Second, do always take another person to the consult, he or she remembers what was said and maybe intimidate brute doctors like Nadia met a bit! Very sad and revolting to know how Nadia was treated by doctors who should have been her safe haven!
Oh, so what State was this in? I assume from her accent the person being interviewed is in the United States.
Doctors who dismiss or gaslight their patients like this should be sued for malpractice.
unfortunately, it seems the only recourse is to find another doctor. Its too bad medical schools don't teach medical students how to listen.
@@CKLee-rs4klDr shortage so you get what you get. Medical field is about money now nurses and Dr's don't go into this field for patients care any longer. It's all about the money. Get the same amount weather they listen to you or not. It's easier to not😢 ............
Good luck being able to pay for a lawyer., if you can even find one that will take your case. Should be a better way
Yes, I agree. Ego does not belong in the clinic.😢❤
Every single doctor that dismissed this poor woman should be made to watch this.
100%
I suggested she take the time to write a letter to each & every so-called expert that didn't do their job, properly and comprehensively.
I did that with my kitty's veterinarian I had seen for almost 11 years. I was so disappointed & frustrated with his lack of concern over my pets health. I tactfully worded a brief letter. Surprisingly, I got a polite response but ego reigns supreme with too many doctors--in every field!
It helped me at least get my frustration off my chest while I was in mourning for my sweet cat.
Anybody who argues that the richest country in the world has the finest healthcare is very blind or ignorant.
No, they should be sued.
Right like that would matter to him!! His arrogant attitude that would mean he would have to admit he was wrong.. good luck with that. The Dr just got another Dr to agree with him!! Completely ignoring her. So scary going to the Dr. Now day's. The Drs in this situation don't care about the patients, just fallow the rules and guidelines given to keep cost down. Sure would have been different if it was a member of their family, would have got tests
Done A.S.A.P. keeps it from spreading and on long run ends up costing way more. Terrifying for
Patient. 🤬🤬
@@andreah6379 Go try Canadian healthcare. They are overworked and underpaid in comparison. You do know you are talking about a fuckin cat right?
As a nurse this is infuriating to me. I can't count how many times I stood up as the patient's advocate telling these immature residents that I've been doing this job since they were in diapers and so if I told them the patient had symptoms.....it was not an option for them to overrule my assessment. If they wouldn't order the tests I needed I would call there attending physician and get the orders I needed
Yes. As I nurse I did the same for patients. Never thought I would have to do it for myself. I believe the doctor should do no harm. If he or she does and it is a pattern. I will find another doctor.. I refuse to be abused, ignored, or subjected to the insult of gaslighting. There are federal laws to protect patients. We need more.
We so desperately have been needing people like you for the past 20 years. Not once have I, nor my mother, had a nurse or a doctor stand up for us before dismissive doctors. Finally my mother ended up travelling to Russia to do a lifesaving surgery. I had a surgery in Moscow too, but my case wasn't so dire. We went to doctors SOOO many times in Canada where we've been living. We've been dismissed, mocked, insulted, laughed at, you name it. I have -100% trust in Canadian doctors. I would rather go straight to a butcher if I didn't have other options.
Hahaha you are still a nurse
@@kathleensmith8365 you are just a nurse
😂😂❤️
I can relate. I was sick for two years, had a constant headache, abdominal pain, constant nausea, crazy high blood pressure, etc. My PCP prescribed 3 BP meds with no change. I had blood tests, MRIs, etc. which were supposedly normal. It wasn't until I physically threatened a doctor to provide a script for an MRI from head to toe at an outside facility that I got some answers. The trigger was the same condescending attitude this woman was subjected to.
I had the scan and was only in the machine for 10 minutes. The radiologist said you have the largest mass I have ever seen on your left adrenal gland and if I don't miss my guess, it is cancer. I said, I have been saying this for two years and no one was listening. He told me I needed to get the h$ll out of town.
So i went to Pittsburgh and was dismissed there as well. Eight months go by and they order another MRI. The damn thing doubled in size. I called and TOLD them they will be taking the SOB out ASAP. They still thought it was benign and not causing the BP issue. Prior to surgery, I spoke with the anesthesiologist in the holding area. He asked what I was concerned about. I told him I thought the tumor was a pheochromocytoma and cancer. He said, I reviewed your chart and I think you are right on both accounts. I said, Great, now I get someone to listen to me right before I go under the knife. He said, well in the OR, he, not the doctor is in charge of keeping me alive.
So he said he planned on putting a central line in just in case when they remove the tumor, the blood pressure tanks he would be able to administer drugs to restore the BP.
That is exactly what happened.
Long story short, a pheochromocytoma along with a rare, aggressive cancer was discovered in my left adrenal gland and I ended up losing my adrenal, kidney, spleen, 25% pancreas and part of my diaphragm.
At my follow-up with the surgeon, he is all apologetic saying he didn't think it was cancer or a pheo.
He said, it is a rare cancer for which there is only 8 documented cases and all other patients are dead.
I said No Kidding Sherlock. They were probably ignored by their doctors too!!!! I was pissed!
I told him if you would have been listening to me instead of dismissing me, maybe you would have come to a different conclusion.
I told him a story of an old family doctor who was a great diagnostician. I asked him how he got so good. He said, easy. I listen to my patients. If I let them talk and only ask key questions, they will tell you what is wrong. He said, God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. We are to do Twice as much listening as talking. I told the surgeon he needs to start doing that.
I then demanded an immediate PET scan to see if it has spread. Fortumately, it did not. Neither did I take chemo or radiation. I went alternative methods and even though they said I only had 12 to 18 months to live, it is 12 years later and I am still around, Thank God!!!!
Perhaps instead of teaching "Pompus Ass" to the 400 level, they need to teach listening skills and bedside manners. So done with doctors.
I applaud your bravery and persistence! You are an inspiration to everyone looking for answers. Thankyou for sharing your story.
Thank you for sharing your story! I’m so happy for your outcome and admire your strength and persistence! God bless you ♥️
Wow what a great story so glad you're still alive to tell it you used your own powers of intuition and everything else so wish doctors would listen. Women are especially blessed with intuition as we have to use our intuition to keep ourselves alive in the animal kingdom it would be our intuition we use to sense things with our children and our Intimates so it only goes that we would have more intuition when it comes to our own bodies and medical things. So far I've diagnosed two of my boyfriends with some unusual things due to listening to their life stories childhood and so forth and putting two and two together also now being able to use the iPad to read up on these things you get a hunch you go down the rabbit hole reading up on something and you come up with a good diagnosis since we have more time to concentrate on these things the doctors should listen to us.
Amen
Yeah, so many doctors scoff and blow you off anytime you tell them you "read" anything. "Dont confuse Google with my doctorate" or whatever. The only reason why we are researching and reading about symptoms, diagnostics, etc. is because the doctors don't listen to us. So we have to our own legwork, without the advantage of having a medical degree. The only resource we have, since doctors won't listen, is medical websites. I don't know what it is... Overwhelm? Widespread burn out? Just not wanting to deal with another medical issue?
I told my GP, on the back of my neck, at one of the vertebrae, there is a clicking, moveable hard piece of bone. Like I can push it left and right with my hand and hear and feel it crunching. I have electric zaps that go to my shoulder. He didn't even touch the area, just briefly glanced at the side of my neck. I had to request x-rays. Bone spurs, narrowing disc space, reverse curvature of the neck, apex of vertebrae in the wrong location, spinal stenosis.
Still never even treated for it. Mayo clinic and other medical websites are more helpful.
I've been a recipient of medical gaslighting as well and it makes you start to question your reality. It took me 5 years to get a systemic lupus diagnosis. When you mentioned how your family started to not believe you, well that really hit home. My husband casually mentioned one day that even my doctor couldn't find something wrong and I shriveled inside. The take away from is to believe in and love yourself. ❤️
I found a breast lump when I was 27, several doctors dismissed me because I was “too young for breast cancer”. Luckily I already had a relationship with a good surgeon and went to see him. He got me scheduled for ultrasounds and a mammogram, and ultimately a biopsy. He saved my life as I was diagnosed stage I breast Cancer. 20 years later he performed my bilateral mastectomy for my second diagnosis, this time stage II. My surgeon and oncologists are fabulous.
You have to advocate for yourself, and you have to educate yourself.
My youngest breast cancer patient was 21
And……if you can’t advocate for yourself, you need someone by your side who can. My sister came within a fraction of a millimetre of becoming paralyzed from the waist down because her family physician didn’t listen to her.
@@cynthiathompson6020 I’ve met several in their late teens through my online support group. Cancer does not care about age
And in my opinion, get second, third, fourth opinions. Sticking with the guy who won't listen makes no sense to me.
Taking biopsy can easily spread cancer cells
Omg!!! I can relate to her just being dismissed and not heard! I spent years (probably close to at least 20 years) being told that there was nothing wrong me; that I was just "drug seeking." I finally got so ill that I could no longer move and was on oxygen full time. I ran across a new Dr in a neighboring state (up to this point I had been to both Mayo clinics and doctors from coast to coast all telling me that it was all in my head) and got an appointment to be seen within hours. At this appointment I was told that I was actively dying and probably had less than 3 months to live. He would do everything within his power to help me, but that it was probably too late. I was diagnosed with a very rare form of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. That was in 1992 (it is August 2022 now). Needless to say this Dr saved my life. I will never have the luxury of going into remission, but I am alive and can truly say that now I truly live every moment that I'm on this planet. I sincerely hope that you have a blessed day!
OMG!!! As soon as I read "Drug Seeking", I knew you are an Angel 😇 / Warrior! I've been living with RSD/CRPS for almost 20yrs!! I'm going through the same thing, the doctors and nurses have no clue about this condition, and seeing as though I'm the one living in pain 24/7... What do I know??? 😆🤣😂 I wish people knew how strong we really are! Also, the condition has the word PAIN in it.. you think they'd know how to treat us?? Take care and stay blessed! 🙏🧡🧡🙏
@Colorista I totally get where you are coming from as I also have CRPS/RSD. How is your doctor treating your pain at this time?
@@Angel14383 right there with you Warrior 👼🏻.
Patients should be able to sue! For not treating people!!! Period! As well if a doctor can’t treat you since it’s in the head should not be required to pay office visit.
@@medavis4563 Stay strong, and continue to fight! 🙏🧡🧡🙏
The gaslighting towards females is especially egregious… her story is so upsetting. They treat you like you have female hysteria and need a laudanum tincture followed by a nap. It’s INSANE how much patients have to fight to be heard. Even looking at her photos around that time her face and eyes wear visibly swollen! I feel so incredibly invested in her story and thankful she did not give up 💜
It has nothing to do with being female. It has everything to do with doctors not being interested in digging deeper, for anyone.
I have been suffering gaslighting at GPs in UK for years.Its even worse if you are seeking mental health care.They demonise you and say every inflammatory thing about you but refuse you any help.then Gaslight you more when you get annoyed about their attitude.then they threaten you.Ive given up.
@@anyatranter5588 thank you for sharing your journey with me.. I’m so sorry for that. And yes, even here in the States mental health care is a joke. Unless you’re wealthy it seems nearly impossible to be heard and taken seriously. I completely understand and I do hope that you can have better luck. I’d given up for almost 2 years and am now just starting to try again.
Women don't get taken seriously. It's always just in our heads. I'm pretty good though getting Drs to do what I want because I first consult Dr. g*ogle. I hate most Drs. Arrogant and very often badly trained/ignorant if something is out of the odinary.
@@cs.0903 A bunch of us in my old workplace were in the break room, talking about this. One of my coworker had recently been diagnosed with ovarian cancer after being told over and over that she just had anxiety and the pains were caused by that.
But every single woman in the room-and there were eight or ten of us-had a similar story about being dismissed by doctors when they actually had a serious or potentially serious health issue. One woman almost hemorrhaged to death because her OB/Gyn was on vacation and the guy subbing for her told her on the phone that “‘you women’ are always talking about your bleeding issues and it’s never anything serious.” He told her she’d be fine. Luckily a girlfriend came over, saw all the blood and took her to the ER. She said the last thing she remembered hearing was “I can’t get a pulse!”
Another girl suffered for months with terrible pain because the doctors she saw while at school told her there was nothing wrong and she just had anxiety. She said she thought she was losing her mind by the time she went home and saw her family doctor. That doctor sent her to the hospital to have her gallbladder removed.
I had heart palpitations, hot flashes, my blood pressure shot up, shortness of breath, and muscle spasms. I finally got to a GP in my regular doctor’s office, and he just looked at me and told me I had anxiety. He didn’t even try to listen to my heart, just decided by looking at me, I guess. It turned out I was having a bad reaction to an herb I had been taking regularly that I thought was completely safe and hadn’t thought to tell them about when they asked what medications I was taking. I know that that part was my fault, but I was told I could have had a stroke if I had just gone along with that doctor who hadn’t even pretended to examine me.
Every woman had a story like that, but most of us lived through it. Unfortunately, the woman who had ovarian cancer didn’t. She was gone within a year.
I'm a nurse and that biopsy incision looks...I can't find the words. It is such a hack job that I don't believe any of the surgical staff have had any medical training! You should sue every one of the Dr.s that ignored you, not just for your self but to protect any other person that may get stuck seeing these same Dr.s !!
Absolutely!!
It is very difficult to sue doctors in Canada. The payout needs to be almost guaranteed and worth over $200,000 or something before a lawyer will look at you.
I thought the same and I am not in the medical field.
so am not in the wrong saying they did a bad job. my c section scars looked way better than that going back 22 years ago when they were not done like the closure in plastic surgery. I think she got some bad medical doctors that do not know what they are doing and knew so they kept dismissing her. Why she went back to them, idk.
My son was also dismissed. He passed away from Lymphoma at the young age of 39. This happens far more than it should. He was dismissed until he woke up paralyzed and died 51 days later.
I’m so sorry!!! ❤
I am sick, but I want to give you some of my strength. Thinking of you today.
These are he doctors that need to be sued!
So so sorry. I am a nurse and I advocate for my patients and many times the doctors don’t even listen to me. The medical field is such garbage, full of abusive, gaslighting pompous jerks.
Yup also just drug pushers
Sadly it's not as we think before we or our closest gets sick.
Well said.
I am a nurse also and absolutely feel the same way about the American health system.
That's why I mostly see my naturopath. I am so tired of this outdated stereotype of women being overemotional.
My husband found lump on throat, grew from pea to almond in two weeks. Cat scan supposedly showed no reason for concern, no lymphatic involvement. Told to just keep eye on it. Hubby wanted 2nd opinion because his risk of cancer high due to kidney transplant. The 2nd doctor said because of risk, he agreed to go in and take biopsy. Turns out when they cut, they immediately suspected cancer from look and it was in lymph nodes. They removed several lymph nodes, it was aggressive cancer. Followed up with radiation. Had he listened to first doctor the outcome I’m sure would have been different. I have many horror stories of being gaslighted by doctors
Hello 👋 how are you doing?
ALWAYS SEEK A SECOND, THIRD OR FOURTH OPNION.
I’m in the same path as your husband. They found a big mass in my uterus and doctor said its nothing and settled surgery for me in 11/14.
I don’t have any exms in my hands I don’t have any report about what I have I don’t even now the of the cancer they found.
The biopsy came back as benign, but I really want one second opinion.
I’m bleeding more than a month and even with the medicine he gave to do not stop the bleeding. I have cramps like I’m delivering a baby!!
If it os benign why I have this cramps and can’t stop the bleeding?
I have blood transfusion a monte ago , and now infusion , I was very anemic because I lost a lot blood.
Kelly, are you perimenopausal? PCOS, or Endometriosis? The bleeding can sometimes be endometriosis, some doctors do a partial hysterectomy, which in my opinion is a big NO, keep your body parts. Usually an IUD with progesterone will stop the lining from building and eventually the bleeding. You say surgery… are they removing the mass or your uterus?. Please. please go get another opinion and if needed more test. Don’t let a doctor cut until you understand everything. I know hard to do when soooo tired, probably heart palpitations with slightest movement. I’m so very sorry, sending prayers your way ❤️
Can relate to this so much. Fobbed off with "colitis" four months later got a sig (via my GP, they found a tumour that's nearly blocking my bowel completely. Have been told subsequently that they didn't spot it as i am "Too young" my reply was that my age shouldn't be able to affect their eyesight.
My gosh I am so sorry! I hope you’re doing well now!🥰
I was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia at 43 and was told I was too young, also. Thankfully, the oncologist did the tests anyway and was shocked that I actually do have it. Thankfully, I'm in remission right now.
Great response. I think we put way too much faith in the doctors. We have to advocate for our own health and not let bullies push us around.
Good comeback! 👍
@@angiebshouse you can advocate all you want. They only believe that people have mental illness, are attention seeking and just need an antidepressant.
The genuine nurses and doctors who look at you like you are an actual human, and listen to you, are true diamonds in this world
and just as rare
I went to the doctor with a lump in my breast, he told me it wasn’t cancer and he refused to give me an RX for a mammogram. I insisted that I didn’t care what he thought and that I wasn’t leaving the office without one. He explained that his 30+ years of work was enough and that I should just listen to him. I didn’t. I explained again that he better give me one( my insurance required an RX for a mammogram). He finally did. 3 weeks later, I had it done….stage 4 breast cancer. I am still under care, it’s been over 5 years. You have to be your own advocate. You must insist if you think there is something going on…you know your body. Fight the fight with positivity, love, diet, and in my case a lot of loud music. My family was a blessing! Fight for yourself!
Hope you went and told him, "I told you so!"
Just happened to my daughter....new doctor, new country (not the U.S.)...she has breast cancer & already had 3mos. of chemo under her belts & 3 more to go then surgery.........I want to go after the doctor in New York City in the United States..who basically told her "We don't normally do mammograms" for females under 40yrs. old".....WTF..I want to hunt him down.....5yrs wasted to catch this early.
@@maddscientist3170 and now they have changed to 50 for mammograms
This is heartbreaking to hear. I am so sorry you had to go through this! We are doing a follow up story (more on medical gas lighting). Would you be able to do an interview and share your story? If so, would you be able to email us at community@thepatientstory.com.
@@bithiahamariah9139 Hell she needs to sue him.
I think these types of Doctors need to loose their licenses and not allowed to practice any longer. I was missed diagnosed for 10+ years when I knew something was wrong with me. I keep having these intense headaches, fatigue, blurred vision, flashing lights, nausea, vomiting, smelling burning all the time, feelings of hitting a wall in daily activities. Then it took loosing my hearings and getting a referral from an audiologist to find out I had a brain tumor the size of an orange. I’m glad you got heard and some good drs helped you. 🙏
As a retired family practice doctor, I will say that our health care system absolutely sucks. I wouldn’t have let the lymph node under your arm go more than a month,with or without other abnormal findings and a needle biopsy is so benign. Tragic story!
Years ago a co worker of mine had a lump near her righ armpit.
Her then doctor told her it was nothing.
A year later she was diagnosed with breast cancer in her right breast.
Ya think, had the doctor not pooh poohed her lump, she may have been diagnosed sooner?
She was in remission for many years but, 11 years after diagnosus, at the young age of 51, she passed away from cancer.
Maybe, had she been properly diagnosed in the beginning, she might still be with us.
@Drtracy I am going through this at this very moment. The sad thing is, it's been going on since I was 35 and I'm now 62. I was diagnosed with Lupus by one Dr., then another said it wasn't Lupus. I now have stage 3 renal disease, (I'm not a diabetic), I have a Duodenal mass that was found last year. I have to have an EGD every 6 mos. because the Gastro Dr. is "keeping an eye on it". Just had one yesterday and 2 biopsies were done. I also have something called Brunner's Gland Hyperplasia. I have nodules on my Thyroid that have been biopsied. Right now it is so swollen it's hard to swallow. I have nodules under my skin on my arms and some on my legs. Some are large, some are small, but there are so many of them it's hard to tell where one ends and one begins. I have been passed around from Dr. to Dr. I feel for this poor lady!
@@georgiaamanatides4207 Oh, that is horrible! 51 is so young. I'm so sorry about your friend.
We need more like you !! Thank you for the Doctor you are. My sister has CLL . Her doctor told her all kind of things before she was finally diagnosed. I told her she needed to go to someone else. She had lymph node under arm swollen that finally the breasts spec found. But it was when her last blood work was done that they were shocked and called the next day !! She is holding her own at this time. She has the slow and faster type. She is under the care of the oncologist that I saw/see for my breast cancer. I can't believe the doctors she saw !! 😥😥
@@brenny6190 we find it easier to advocate for someone else rather than for ourselves. Please keep looking for the right doctor. Some graduated at the bottom of the class, some at the top. Some have a real passion for doctoring, some just need a job. You are worth the effort to find a group of physicians who are willing and able to help you. Sending you love.
Happened to me too Was getting terrible gastrointestinal symptoms. My doctor diagnosed me with acid reflux. Knowing this didn’t sound right and changed doctors. I was subsequently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was admitted for surgery within two weeks. My first doctor almost cost me my life
Prayers for you
A
I’m sorry you had to experience that. I hope you will consider writing your first doctor to let him know he made that error. Perhaps it will make him more thorough and save someone else’s life.
Yes praying for you 🙏
I’m sorry that happened and am hoping you are OK. Do mind telling others what your symptoms were so maybe someone else will be aware, alerted? How did you get proper diagnosis and what led you to believe it wasn’t acid reflux?
This is tragic. Apparently it's also a very common experience. It's also a crime against humanity.
The real question is why are so many people getting aggressive cancers?
I’m literally going through 95% of this. I’m 28 and doctors keep dismissing me…I have fibromyalgia and I keep getting “it’s your fibromyalgia” or “ it’s your anxiety disorder”. “Don’t worry about it”. This is scary. I think I better advocate for myself now seeing this.
What is the acidity of your interstitial fluids that surround your cells and organs? I bet severely acidic indicating acidosis. Doctors aren't trained in this.
Electrons power the mitochondria, and alkaline fluids provide those electrons. Acid solutions steal electrons.
Energy production results in acidic exhaust. If you have acidosis, the best thing your body can do is shut down all excess energy to minimize acid production. You seem serious about trying to improve. I recommend the following 3 books (in order)...
1. Cure Your Fatigue by M. Robbins
2. The pH Miracle Revised and Updated by Dr. Robert O. Young ND, PhD
3. The Soy Zone by Dr. Barry Sears, PhD
Search the names of the three programs on youtube...
1. The Root Cause Protocol
2. The pH Miracle
3. The Zone Diet
Check your interstitial fluid acidity by checking the pH of your sweat. I'm having low motivation/energy, and my interstitial pH is 4.5 or less...
@@wellnesspathforme6236 wow I've never even heard of this. Thanks!
I have a hiatal hernia and I have acid reflux all the time. But my symptoms are more of low acid in stomach because I was on Nexium for 8 years and I think it's done damage.
But I will explore all this. Thank you so much for the information!
I hope you are able to feel better soon!
@@wellnesspathforme6236 Spammer
I’m going through this too
I am a licensed Physician Assistant with over 40 years of clinical experience. Such is the American HealthScam System! Disgusting. I am so sorry this happened to you and too many to count other patients. When a medical professional "dismisses" your concerns....PLEASE NEVER GO BACK TO THAT PERSON AS HE/SHE CANNOT BE TRUSTED...EVER!
I experienced the same, finally could barely walk was reduced to crutches have been an avid athlete most of my life, stopped by the Dr Clinic and refused to leave until I received a referral to a lab for a full blood count, I told him what I needed to be done. The little man said "my first wife died of cancer, the second through an accident, so get over it"! I responded with well I'm not your third, I'm a patient with extreme symptoms. Finally, two days later he contacted me to say "the ambulance is on its way, and you are dying", arrived at the hospital a young Doc apologized for the ignorance I experienced😱, then while being attached to all tubes the duty oncologist claimed I had max eight hrs left followed by his nurse asking if I had arranged my funeral procedures? Seriously? I'm in NZ. That was August 2016 now due to medical negligence this has developed into WM with BN Syndrome and PN.
100% concur!
The problem is they continue to hurt the next patient!
I would write a tactful, factual letter of how their lack of competence affected me & certainly would inform them how serious their mistake(s) turned out to be.
It's just 1 less thing I "got off my chest" & could help the patient feel better doing so.
I thought she is Canadian?
So, how do we take back OUR healthcare system? Why do doctors not lobby against the interests of Big Insurance and Big Pharma? Patients, which all healthcare employees also are, suffer the most.
This poor woman. Her story made me cry. I'm so sorry you went through so much trauma. Both your physical pain you couldn't "prove" and then doctor's claiming it was all anxiety. PTSD is huge and many times it isnt from the actual illness itself but from trying to find 1 doctor that believes you are experiencing so many issues. Breaks my heart how dismissive everyone was to her.
@K omg
This is very frequent especially with women.
I know this one myself, still on the mystery tour of my own body. I feel somewhere in my file is a note that says, trouble maker. You most likely now do have PTSD from your doctor's appts, pretty sure I do. I live by the rule if they do not show up with advice that makes sense, kindness, and an open mind if they can not comprehend that I live in this body every moment of the day, I do not go back.
I've had this happen to me. They also thought I was having an anxiety attack but I wasn't. It's just ridiculous how many doctors there are in this world & you have to literally jump through hoops to find one that gives a damn.
I’ve been there 3 1/2 years of no one believing tons of medical test , so so sick that all I wanted to do was lay on the couch everyday !
I was experiencing the worst cramps I ever had and was having lots of clots. I went to my NP and she dismissed it saying I was just going into menopause. It got worse and after 2 months I was passing clots that were very large and was incapacitated by the craps. I took a photo of some of the clots so she could see that yes, they are large! She then referred me to an OB. Come to find out, I had endometrial cancer. Her dismissal almost cost me my life!
Me too! I was TEXTBOOK for the profile and presenting symptoms but because I mentioned WebMD they blew me off!
I’m so sorry
I hope you Told her that you should’ve sued her for malpractice
@@Starfish2145 In my state, you can only sue for malpractice if they amputate the wrong limb or you die. I would have had to die and hopefully my husband could have won a case.
I'm so sorry you went through that! Endometriosis is beyond painful! ❤
Same happened to me. I was 35 and losing weight and was exhausted. I was told it was stress since I had just been in a bank robbery. I ended up having Stage II breast cancer and Lyme disease. I found the lump myself. They do not take young women seriously.
Nor older women either…
@@maryrenaud6732 nor ANY woman
@@maddscientist3170
or Men, White men!
I know exactly how she feels.Its like you're falling apart & everyone around you is watching doing nothing.I too was told that everything was anxiety.I'm vitamin D deficient & I had to continuously push for Bloodwork that's how I found out.I sympathize with this lady because my current PCD is just as dismissive.She will no longer be my PCD I've recently switched.
What's a PCD,?
@@cerorchid Primary Care Doctor, I think
My dad was a doctor. Everyone treated him like he had a mental problem but it turned out to be pancreatic cancer. He died three weeks later.
Absolutely horrific and unbelievable. I am really sorry. God bless you.
So sorry!! What an unnecessary loss of a loved one. Something has to be done!
Tragic
This is happening to me now!
Chronic non alcoholic pancreatitus
Pamcreas atrophied, but scan said difficulty identifying pancreas....argued with me about whether it said that. Sent me to hospital only observed me 24 hrs.
One month later, i still can't eat, feels like two baseballs on right and left. Refuse to do anything
Said i have pain meds at home and water. I don't care about the pain much, i want to know how to get better and what's wrong!!!!
I have been to ER 3 TIMES. HE SENT ME ONCE!
i have also had metastatic lung cancer, botched surgery. Refused to say why it says metastatic. I think they just are seeimg me, but refuse to TREAT ME. SOOOO SCARED. this just touches the surface...the surgeons assistant said...we really did a number on you didn't we!?
Have been fighting to stay alive for basic care almost passed three or four times
Having to try and figure out how to take dr myself
That’s horrible I’m so sorry
I also have a medical condition (Hashimoto's thyroiditis), but was dismissed as "just being anxious". Eventually, my (amazing) Dad threatened to sue them, and then all of a sudden I received an official diagnosis and medication.
I was diagnosed decades ago, had changed providers during several years of cancer treatments and a new provider continued to ask me why do I think I have thyroid disease because I don’t, my labs are fine. After a year of fighting for it I finally got an ultrasound and the ultrasound results literally said “ signs of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis” and she STILL argued that I didn’t need an endocrinologist since my labs were fine.
I changed providers, got straight into endo and he’s was appalled and unsure how I was still standing upright because it was bad.
Hashimoto’s is frustrating because it’s so undertreated correctly until we’re deathly sick
Happened to me in 2013. Was 23, in congestive heart failure, couldn't stay awake for more than an hour. Doc's advice was to "join the peace corp" as "I didnt know what I wanted to do with my life". Took over 5 visits just to get an EKG, by the time I had the echo my EF was 40. Doctors are not god, they are not supremely intelligent (I say this as I have worked with them at a very high level over the last decade), and YOU know your body better than anyone. Please advocate for yourselves and your loved ones.
I have CHF with AFib and COPD. Im on supplemental O2 24/7. I recently had some pulmonary tests done and the doctor, whom I had just met, told me "I dont think you have COPD". I was dumbfounded. This isnt my first rodeo. I crashed due to a virus in 2001 so Ive been ill a while. My cardiologist was speechless when I told him. Even idiots can become doctors if they can afford med school.
@@queenbee3647 Best of wishes to you, I genuinely hope your condition improves.
Do any of you all have sleep apnea? A lot of times CHF goes hand in hand.
In my experience doctors think they are geniuses, at the top intellectually, although studies show they aren't. They are above average, but not in the top tier. It's how they're trained - to be arrogant and conceited. I also find they cling to what they learned, they are not original thinkers or good problem solvers. So many also seem to feel contempt/indifference towards their patients. I really dislike having to deal with doctors and hope I never get seriously ill.
I completely agree with you that we all have to be our own advocate. Sadly, not everyone can do that if they live alone & maybe too sick to fight to be heard.
I have such a similar experience with doctors, it's infuriating. I've had symptoms such as fatigue, body pain, abdominal cramps, jaundice, brain fog, extreme constipation and other life degrading symptoms since I was 12, I'm 33 now, and have been dismissed by so many doctors. One stupid old male doctor even told my mom that "girls my age" meaning teenagers, sometimes make things up for attention, insinuating I was faking my symptoms. I don't know how I could fake jaundice, rashes, sudden brown blotches and spots appearing on half of my body(they look like liver spots over a huge "birthmark" to me) and blockages because of my constipation, but ok.
One dismissed a goiter saying it was probably mono, without even doing any testing, because I was a teen also.
Turns out I have thyroid disease that I was recently diagnosed with because my symptoms got so bad, I practically had to beg my doctors to believe me and luckily my gyno at the time was filling in for my regular dr, and she reluctantly sent me to get some proper labs done.
I'm pretty sure there's something else also going on, but I give up. I'm too tired and depressed, and I know drs will never take me seriously cause I'm female and look young.
Please don't give up! You owe it to yourself to keep fighting. You've gone through so much pain and anguish for so long there's no point in just giving up. If you're able to get at least one of your conditions diagnosed, you can find out whatever else is causing you problems. It's not easy but I wish you the best, your story sounds so intense and it makes me so upset how a doctor could just brush off such serious symptoms.
I hope you feel better soon. I had similar issues, which turned out to be gluten related (celiac). All the best!
With you all the way,doctors laughing at me ,make me rather die with dignity than hear them laughing at me.
Went through same thing back in the 60s. Finally brought in the blood clots because they were telling me that I was a drama queen and that after I had a baby this would all go away . What a stupid thing to tell a teen; did they want me knocked up? BTW the first words out of my mouth after my son was born at age 27 was : my periods were worse pain you lied! At age 16 I was put on the pill which helped with both pain & bleeding but it wasn't till I was 38 that I got the thyroid diagnosis [was off the pill] and realized the source of most of my issues. Also Synthroid did not work because I was mercury poisoned from a mouthful of amalgams and could not convert T4 to T3 so I used Armour & now Cytomel which gave me a new lease on life. I used a basal body temperature test to convince doctor because the TSH test is not as great as they all think it is. If your morning body temperature [before you rise] in the armpit is 97.2 or below consistently ;you ARE low thyroid. Broda Barnes MD author Hypothyroidism the Hidden Illness.
I had all those symptoms at 38 found out I had stage 3 thyroid cancer. My sister has thyroiditis. A golf ball in my neck and all those years Dr felt my neck and symptoms and never said anything. It was found because I had bronchitis and my white blood cell count was high. Ultrasound then fine needle biopsy. Been living this way 10yrs almost. It's metastatic to the lymph nodes.
I wanted to watch this because I also went through something similar but it was too hard! My heart goes out to all of us because if doctors ever just said, "I believe you but I have no idea what's wrong" we would be better off.
You’re absolutely right
I’m soooooo happy to see a Chanel like this because we ALL need to be talking about it! I have as we been medically gaslit & narcissistically abused by “Medical Professionals” for over 20 years! I new I had MS (multiple sclerosis), because my mother has it. Thank you for sharing these stories! I’m ready to do the same! 🙏🏻💞
How did you find out
Yes, this is so true
Thank you for sharing. You are not the only woman this happened to. Anxiety is a sign and symptom of many types of cancer but it is often taken as “in our head”.
Hello 👋 how are you doing?
This is a BIG ALARM to ALL…NO matter what age you are, symptoms, etc. YOU are your own advocate and if a doctor doesn’t listen…..find one that does.
AND I hope this woman (and others that weren’t heard by a doctor) went back to the doctor/doctors who dismissed her and said …..”I want to thank you so much for dismissing my feelings, symptoms, and pain. Because of your horrible treatment and misjudgment and through my own perseverance and insistence I was able to find a REAL doctor that diagnosed me with cancer! Hopefully it’s caught in time however if you would have really listened to me in the first place…..I would have started treatment sooner.”
UGH!!! This is soooo frustrating!!! 😫
I can't wait for that day. Right now I'm dying from "nothing". 5 years ago I was misdiagnosed with lupus. I had a ton of sudden health changes, swollen fingers needing prednisone, sepsis, itchy skin, Dark and light Spots all over my body, Severe joint pain ( Diagnose with fibromyalgia), Heart Palpitations, Inability to walk any distance or climb flight of stairs, Shortness of breath, Severe anxiety, Fatigue to the point sometimes I can't get out of bed, A stiff finger; Now deformed. Severe pain And Bloating after eating, Neck pain, ( Years ago it could only be cracked by a doctor) About 9 months ago it began cracking cracking constantly with every movement. That scares me a lot. Short term memory loss, No strength. dramatic changes to the way I look... In the 1st year I had an unintended weight loss of 50 pounds. I'm losing all my teeth despite never having a cavity until age 30. Insomnia, Overgrowth of keratin around my nails, Sudden onset of reynauds syndrome, and more I'm sure doesn't come to mind. I had a blood test confirming a gene one must have in order to be diagnosed; the other criteria is clinical presentation of symptoms (you need three) as well as a score on the skin thickening scale.
I changed the doctor I saw (And had a great patient doctor relationship)for 30 years when he retired.
Went through several primary care doctors throughout this time, 2 have left the practice, I'm seeing another in about a month. An official diagnosis will come with relief. Since this is terminal, I really don't care what kind of diagnosis they give me as long as I get something... So my family doesn't say "well, she died of nothing". Nobody seems to think how serious this really is. I'm so very tired, And I've been dismissed by so many so called "professionals" It's sickening. The only thing I want taken off my record is a is a mandatory hold in a psych unit In a major hospital. When this 1st started, I thought it could potentially be parasites. (With my travel and animal history that certainly could have been the case). It was a teaching hospital in the intern made the 1st decision, and then I was transferred for another mandatory 5 days. I was absolutely flabbergasted, Yet they refused to let me see a dermatologist to at least look at my skin and observe what was going on at the time.
That was demoralizing, and inhumane. Unfortunately I have no support system. I kept asking what my rights were, and if I had any recourse. They told me no... However I did have the right to request a lawyer and I would have been out the next day! The doctors there didn't understand why I was there after they evaluated me.
Now when I see any doctor reads that on my record, They would assume (as would i) A fully qualified medical professional evaluated me and made a sound decision based on The fact I was a danger to myself for others, Or I gravely could not care for myself. Neither of these things were the case. My reputation was smeared right there! I didn't go back to any doctor for a very long time after that. I suffered in silence at home and just got worse. I do have a large tumor on my adrenal gland that needs to be removed; But those symptoms do not overlap with these symptoms other than the anxiety.
I'm praying my new doctor will will want to do get to the bottom of what ails me, get me properly diagnosed, And let me keep working on that bucket list!
@@TwoPartyIllusion I really hope you find all the answers you are seeking. It is so wrong how some doctors misbehave. Thinking they are God.
I am so reluctant to say this, but in some instances an attorney may be needed to help doctors understand this is serious.
@@TwoPartyIllusion I am sooooo sorry you are going through this. I hope and pray your new doctor LISTENS to YOU! It boggles my mind when people show signs/explain symptoms of something going on with their body and the “professionals” don’t listen to them. 🙏
Find one that does... yeah... assuming you have the money to keep paying and paying and paying etc.
What also kills me, in addition to her being outright dismissed all these times, is that she had to pay bills for all these appointments when she didn’t get ANY help!! This has happened to me in so many different ways. It is systemic incompetence and the consumer pays for it in SPADES!!! Infuriating!! 🤬
This is a major problem in the medical establishment. If they can't figure it out, it must be all in your head. A common question being, "Have you been under a lot of stress lately?" It seems to be something they are taught in medical school that becomes engrained in their practice. Every time I see a doctor I have to argue with them about my symptoms and to get them to listen before they will order any tests. They did it when I had an ulcer, for which I saw 5 doctors, but it took a nurse practitioner to finally listen and order the necessary tests where they found a huge ulcer and a large gallstone. The same thing happened when I had carpal tunnel and they were convinced it was all in my head, so they stalled about doing tests. What bothers me most is that my brother in-law went to the same clinic I did and had the same symptoms I had for carpal tunnel and they sent him for tests right away and did NOT argue with him or ask if he had been under a lot of stress. So there seems to be a prejudice. I've had so many female friends who have gone through the same thing. I find that seeing a female doctor yields better results.
I agree!
I have a female dermatologist that i have seen several times but the second you ask her a question, she ramps up and gets very nasty with me. I believe she is a good doctor but needs to have more compassion and explain things to her patients!
The SECOND a doctor sees I have a history of anxiety or depression their entire demeanor changes.
Unfortunately once a notation is made on your chart that it's an emotional/mental issue they seem to default to that for anything thereafter. I had a history of migraines and had a really bad headache one night and then was having trouble with my left side not being able to use it appropriately with smarting and burning. The neurologist wanted to admit me to the psych unit for mental issues but luckily my private family physician said he knew me and that he knew something was wrong and had the appropriate test done it was found that I had had a temporal lobe stroke. The next day after the results came out the neurologist wanted to admit me to his intensive Care unit I told him no that the hospital and the general care unit was good for me last night it's good for me today. I stuck with my GP unfortunately that GP retired. I found a new GP that listen to his patience and had him for several years, and he is now retired. Unfortunately I have had several medical issues but it is taken persistence and being my own advocate to get the diagnosis and treatment needed. Having worsening respiratory issues with extreme shortness of breath and fatigue with minimal exertion they kept saying it was an exacerbation of my asthma and treated me with solu-medrol/ steroid and would send me home. Finally pushed and someone listened and put me in the hospital for the tests needed to find I had pulmonary hypertension. Same thing happened when I had a pulmonary storm/15 pulmonary emboli at one time (this was years before) it took me pushing and my hands turning purple/ "gloving" before they did the appropriate testing and found the pulmonary embolisms.
A note on their putting things off to emotional mental situation. I was admitted to the hospital with major respiratory infection and diverticulitis for which I had been on several rounds of antibiotic and the last antibiotic was a. 'heavy hitter' and when I complained and could not use my leg to stand up they said it was emotional mental stress and wanted to send in a psychiatrist. I told them no it was not an emotional issue that there was actually something wrong they tried telling me that well you would feel that way with it being an emotional issue you wouldn't realize. They documented on my chart that I had emotional paralysis. When I had done my own investigation and noted that it was a rare side effect but yet a potential side effect of the heavy hitting antibiotic that neuromuscular and paralysis could happen I was told that oh that's so rare that's not what is happening to you. Once I was discharged after The infection and the paralysis had cleared discussing with my GP she agreed that it probably was a rare side effect to the medication. They don't report these side effects to the medications and they stay even more rare because they're not getting documented they're getting put off as emotional response..... Extremely aggravating!
I could go on but I won't bore you 😁
@@rosemarierex5095 If your dr gets nasty with you that is a huge red flag. Find another dr.
Thank you so much for sharing this.I’m going through the same thing. It’s been 2 years of doctors, nurses and PA’s telling me I’m crazy.I have a super long list of symptoms and every doctor blames it on something else. I have never felt so alone in my entire life. I have a 5 year old to take care of and I am just so drained, sad and I feel so helpless. Now that have severe anemia and need to get infusions. The hematologist is finding something else to blame it on. I’m so done.
Dont give up! This is your life. Fight for it. Dont let them snuff you out. I fought doctors. I had cancer. I had a very scared daughter depending on me. (14) Shes grown and IM STILL HERE! Fight.
Anemia can cause severe fatigue tho
@@shuffman8094 Anemia often means that iron is overloaded in the tissues caused by a lack of ferroxidase -- a bio-active form of copper. Too.much iron is added to the food for anyone to by systemically low in it. Low iron 8n the blood occurs all the time.in people who have waaaay to much iron stuck in their tissues. The most quoted scientist on Earth, Sr. Bruce Ames, discover that there can be 10x more iron in the tissues than in the blood. Doctors are mistrained when it comes to iron metabolism.
Also, the healthiest babies are born to anemic mothers. Look up "hemodilution pregnancy studies" and see for yourself. I hear 8.5--9.0 is a sweet spot.
It makes sense, too. Miniature vasculature systems will do best with thinned out blood... which is thinned by reducing the hemoglobin concentration.
I just explained Orwellian 2+2=4.
The Rockefeller Medicine Wo/Men believe 2+2=5, and all they needed was a monetary incentive..
The damage they are doing is immeasurable... they will be shocked when they finally learn their role in global degeneracide.
Anemia Can be caused by internal bleeding
Thyroid issues can cause sever fatigue and brain fog,hair loss,etc
Omg, how frustrating! I can't imagine being treated like that by people we're supposed to trust - the doctors. Thank you for sharing your story.
You don't need to imagine. It's reality, and it happens every day.
You have no idea how frustrating it is to be dismissed by Dr knowing your body and something isn't right!
My sister is and had been experiencing that same dismissal! Tens of thousands of dollars and drugs galore, because almost all docs blow her off as depressed. 😔 I am so glad you kept pressing.
What a nightmare!! Absolutely inexcusable lack of medical care. 😢
I’m so sorry that you went through that! The same thing happened to me, I started seeing multiple doctors starting September of last year and they all dismissed me, called me anxious and sent me home. Now, I finally saw a doctor who told me I might have lymphoma (which I’ve been saying to every of the 7 doctors I saw prior to him, but they dismissed me). He sent me for a biopsy, but the surgeon I saw was so dismissive again! It’s unbelievable, the amount of stress we’re being put under, for nothing!
Edit: oh, wow! I now got to the part of the video where you talk about your biopsy and it’s incredible, my surgeon told me the same things! That he wouldn’t do it if he were me and that it’s nothing! Unbelievable!
So sorry you experienced that! Hope you find the medical attention and care you DESERVE. -Stephanie
I've learned and I'm sure you have too, that you have to be your own best advocate, thank God for the internet, lots of reputable websites and info. They dismissed me until I had a dr. appt right after work when I was so tired that I fell off the chair while being examined and couldn't tell time on the clock. Then, took me seriously, thought I had a brain tumor, did nuero visit, tests, CT, etc. it was a severe Vit. D deficiency. >7 essentially no vitamin D in body, used up from a immune disorder that was previously diagnosed. Funny thing, the blood test for that deficiency was a benefit screening that I got at work, not doctor's office. Never, have they been interested in my vitamin levels before. After a year of shots, I'm back. Now my doctor always test me for that, and hopefully by learning from me she can help someone else. Take your Vit D3 and K2 people. My doc, never heard of K2, but without it, you don't use your Vit D efficiently. Do love my doc, because she learns from patients, rather than having an "ego block."
same to me. I have had like 14 appointments, with different doctors like radiologists, hematologist, ent, infectious disease, internist, pneumologist since may 2021 and i still don’t know why lymph nodes are enlarged.
My bloods and CT scan came out clear (I'm in the UK)! BUT I HAVE SWOLLEN lymph nodes since March, with all the symptoms (extreme fatigue, excruciating joint pains, lost over 10% of my body weight without trying, loss of appetite, sweating day and night, etc and recently moRe lumps appeared. I have tHem on my neck, underarm, groin area... Next appointment is in a week and it's absolutely fekking killing me! I want a biopsy. I am getting worse and worse. Sometimes I can barely walk because my hips hurt so bad... :(( I'm tired of trying to convince those who are supposed to help me that I AM SICK!!!!
@@AdLineamDesignsGlasgow Curious to know their thoughts on what exactly a “clear” CT means. From my understanding, CT doesn’t show if a node is cancerous, so they should really do their due diligence. I’m so sorry you’re feeling unwell :( I hope it works out well! Fingers crossed!
I’m crying listening to Nadia knowing how horrible it feels to be dismissed and not listened to.
Don't just write him a letter, plaster his name wherever you can. I'm really sorry you had to be put through this. ❤️
Good idea, now how?
Yelp review.
Any doctor that fails to accurately diagnosis or gas lights a patient needs to be reported to their states medical board. You can also look up your physician to see if they have any complaints filed against them.
HOW DISGUSTING THAT DOCTORS ARE DISMISSING PATIENTS. Do your job Doctors!!!!😡😡😡😡
One thing I always suggest to other patients who have either been dismissed or misdiagnosed, is that they later let that Dr know the dx and how vewry wrong they were.. and from there report him/her to the AMA and the Attorney General's office.
I worked with a patient who everyone knew had Hodgkin's lymphoma but it took 4 or 5 biopsies to get the diagnosis. I was a mid level provider and saw her after that final biopsy. She and her family cried with relief. She told me later that she started feeling better with the 1st cc of chemo. She finished her chemo and was cured. I also had a patient with low sodium who had an MD pound on a table to tell her she didn't have lung cancer (her sister had recently diagnosed, she was anxious too) Turns out she had small cell lung cancer that's why her CT scan was negative, so sad
My doctor litterally screamed at me and told me he can prescribe all the pills he wants I'll never get well because i have "mental health problems" causing all my health issues. Turns out my hypothroid was not properly treated( way underdosed) and i hav a chronic, officially diagnosed gut infection. Doctor's are not nice people and they don't care about thier patients only the money 99% of the time. I suppose there is 1 good doctor for every 100 bad ones.
That’s what can bring down you sodium level?
My potassium two years ago dropped all of sudden it made my body start shutting down and I was getting restless leg and arms and these cramps that felt like someone was punch my muscles! And my heart was irregularly beating it would pretty much almost stop beating ! They treated me like a drug addict! As soon as they seen my blood work they rushed to get me to take 8 of these huge ass pills that tasted like pure salt 🤮
Been dealing with my potassium levels randomly dropping, I’m on special diet and have suppleness from the doctor but they never told me why it’s happening to a 23 year old! I’m now 25
@@lilyrye5651 I have that too. I was told it’s Natrimia low salt levels. The PA told me to drink more water which is the wrong answer. Too much water dilutes salt.
I’m now adding salt to my foods.
A PET Scan should have ruled that out, correct?
I've gone to doctors who didn't even do a physical--even for abdominal pain. What this woman went through is sad and frustrating.
I've had abdominal pain for 3 years. 3 doctor's visits, no physical exam and waiting for an ultrasound which will probably never happen.
@@Chahlie Sorry to hear this
It is truly concerning that a professional doctor can just dismiss a person. We know our bodies thay are not fit to work in this profession thankfully someone listened prayers keep going beautiful girl xxx
Yes, WRITE THESE DISMISSIVE DOCTORS A LETTER! and leave them a review online. Doctors like that need to be educated or retire
and they need to apologize.
Or report them to the board. The part that irritates me on another level other than obviously putting your life in danger is that they make money off dismissing you every single time. In any other business model and industry you would get all the refunds and recompensation. But first and foremost he shouldn’t be a doctor because he literally gets in a way of you getting you a proper care that you needed so much.
That's how most doctors are gruff, dismissive, already diagnosed you without even touching you or getting the APPROPRIATE tests to diagnose, and the hypochondriac labeling.
Once that "notation" is put in your chart, no medical staff takes you seriously.
I've witnessed this many, many times.
Nadia,I’m so sorry you weren’t taken seriously for so long
Unfortunately,a lot of patients have a similar story to yours which means a lot valuable time is wasted
Wishing you all the very best .
My husband had been complaining to his doctor of being unwell. Again and again he was told there was nothing wrong with him to the point of being told it was in his head his doctor was insisting I need to have him committed into a mental ward. He seen him for the last time 72 hours later he was rushed to hospital and told within hours he had terminal cancer nothing could been done. We were in total shock my husband was so relieved I asked him why he told me it ment he wasn’t insane. We lost him 7 weeks later. In his records were results of a scan that showed his thyroid was enlarged and lymph nodes also enlarged and he should have investigate we knew nothing about it. A blood test showed his blood count had dropped by nearly 40% if only we knew what was sitting in his records
You should contact a lawyer for malpractice, seriously.
So sorry for your loss. That doctor needs jail time.
I hope you intend to sue this doctor. I am very sorry this happened to you and your husband.
One of the things I advocate and I do for myself as well is get your records copy of everything.. that's every test every consult anything that goes into the physical record.
@@JTguitarlessons Yes we are and I have reported him to the health department who have advised me they have grave concerns.
I am sooooo angry listening to all this abuse and lack of attention by doctors. Unfortunately I had a similar experience with a heart doctor who screamed at me as to why I had not had a test done and would not let me explain that I had had a TIA and concussion after a fall. I walked out of his office crying. And when His nurse who must have heard all the commotion asked me to make a further appointment. I told her that I would not send my dog to such a doctor. I then Reported his behavior and was opined a few weeks later and to,d to make an appointment with another doctor and they he,led me organize the test which is very involved and which I am having next week. My house doctor has been very supportive but I feel so used and meantime I have not see. A doctor for a very long time and this is my third eschemic attack Oh well vent over
This is horrible. I truly feel for you, and hoe you get better doctors. I'm really sorry this happened. Inexcusable what he did to you.
This story is so upsetting. I'm glad you didn't give up. I'm sick right now and having trouble getting help. You've inspired me to keep looking for answers
I feel everything you went through. Listening to you telling your story feels like my current situation. I don’t know what to do
Nadia my heart goes out to you. It's not right what Drs can get away with saying and doing or not doing.
This is so sad. My best friend went through a similar situation. She had a friend who was her doctor and suddenly she felt like she had ovarian cancer. She had vague symptoms and told the doctor about them. 10 years earlier she was given antidepressants by him for anxiety and what was thought to be depression. So when she told him about her concerns, 10 years later, he didn’t do any tests. He just told her to take her meds because she would stop and get the thoughts of anxiety and thought there was something wrong with her. This worrying of hers went on for months off and on and always got worse when off her meds. Her family and friends thought she was a hypochondriac and chocked it up to her being off her meds. I was one of those friends, sadly. One morning she called me in a panic thinking she was dying from cancer. She lived 2 hours away but I rushed to her side. That day she got an appointment for a woman gynecologist because my friend was convinced she has ovarian cancer. The doctor did an ultrasound on her uterus and everything was normal and even that doctor thought my friend was over reactive. We were relieved but my friend wasn’t after a few days. She contacted her friend doctor and insisted on a CT scan. He reluctantly gave in. It was found that she had spots on her liver. I was with her when she got the news it was cancer. Turns out it was bile duct cancer. She had 2 years of chemo before she ultimately passed away. She was only 51 years old. :(
I am glad I don’t have friends like she had. Doesn’t sound like anyone really cared for her. What a sad story. I am going to call all of my friends and family today and thank them for actually caring for me.
I'm so sorry.
@Michelle Brie . I can see why you would think her friends and family were not caring by my comment, but I couldn’t put the whole history of years of experience with her. We all loved her dearly and wanted the best for her. I had known her since we were a year old, 50 years. We were all convinced that she had a bit of a mental issue. We can’t be faulted for that. I commuted 4 days a week for 2 years to be with her through all her treatments and to help her at home, mostly for moral support. I and her mom were with her the night she died. If that’s not a caring friend I don’t know what is. Until you walk in the shoes of another, it’s hard to judge. I miss her every day. It’ll be 10 years on September 5th since I lost my best friend. I hope you never have to experience that pain.
@Casey Avalon . Thank you for your kind comment. I replied to Michele Brie because she didn’t understand the whole story and made a judgment call on the situation. The 10th anniversary of my friend’s passing is coming up on September 5th. :(
So disheartening! I’m so so sorry you were treated this way. To be dismissed by a Dr is the most horrible feeling. We are the best judge of our own mind and body. We know when something is wrong. I’ve been unwell for the past 10 years, multiple hospital admissions and surgeries. I am a RN and I have been shocked at how many Drs /Surgeons that have blown me off and made me feel so much more worse. It’s disgusting and Drs need to stop treating their patients like this. As a nurse hearing your symptoms to me are red flags. You poor thing I’m so so sorry. I apologies on behalf of the medical profession for the way you have been treated. Hugs to you dear. Xxx
I hope she wrote to those doctors and/or his supervisors explaining what he did wrong. People never do that and the doctors are left believing that they were right, because they never hear back from the doctor again.
My daughter had lymphoma around age 28 and I'm glad she had a friend who knew what was happening early in the disease.
Poor lady. I can't believe people are so dismissive. I wish we could do something about it. They are sooooo quick to say "it's just anxiety" like anxiety is nothing to be worried about as it is 😒 i hope you are doing ok.
I do not understand why western medicine doesn’t treat the mind/body as a whole and makes us go to various specialists for every single various different organ, when they’re all so interconnected so often. And we end up being treated for years for symptoms that are actually the cause of a much bigger issue because we’re sent to a dermatologist for a rash that’s actually a sign of cancer, or we’re sent to a psychiatrist for anxiety that’s actually a sign of something bigger. Also I have had “patient has anxiety” written on my chart when being tested for endometrial cancer recently, and as soon as I saw that I knew that meant I would be blown off as a “hysterical woman” and half of my concerns would be dismissed. Yeah, I have anxiety. And I also could have cancer. So I expect to be taken seriously!
Go to a nurse practitioner. We are taught to treat the whole body and mind including spirituality. Medical doctors are taught to treat the organ or symptoms. NPs and MDs use very different models of care.
Agree!
These are classic symptoms. How in this day and age do we still have physicians ignoring patients. I’m so sorry for you having to go through this.
Because insurance discourages then from ordering expensive tests
@@scota73 it seems like treating undiagnosed illnesses is more expensive.
Gilda Radnor comes to mind. She KNEW . Doctors said she was just " high strung ".
So , so sad .
Having been an RN for over 20 years, this infuriates me that so many patients fall through the cracks, and their complaints get dismissed.
I have a lot of the same symptoms, and my labs are abnormal, pointing more towards (CML) chronic myelogenous leukemia. Another issue i've started having within the past couple of months while trying to figure this out is blood in my stool, as well. I'm awaiting more testing, but the waiting while knowing something is very wrong in there is rough. Prayers and best of luck to you. I'm so sorry you were stuck with doctors not doing what they went to school to do.
I was in my 30s when I started to have unexplained vaginal bleeding that wasn't my period. I felt in my soul that something was very wrong. Nobody in my family and friend circle believed me and called my a hypochondriac. By the end of the year I finally got insurance and had a visit at my new PCP. It came with a well woman exam. I was called w in the week for a follow up and was diagnosed with cancer right before Christmas.
I'm in remission but the struggle is real. Thank you so much for speaking out about this crucial issue that effects so many women and young people.
This kind of thing happened to my brother. Presenting with symptoms & told its indigestion. Starts losing weight despite eating. Having incredible stomach pain going into back. Sent for gastroscope, colonoscope. Nothing wrong still indigestion. By this time his looking like a prisoner of war so thin. Put pressure on to have CT scan told them to look at pancreas. Omw he has pancreatic cancer spread throughout his body. Given 3 months to live. Been going back & forth to doctors for 3 years before diagnosis. Most doctors don't care they just there for the big paycheck. Very sad
🙏☝️💕
I went through almost this same story. I still have the bloated abdomen and no one can find a reason for years. After my GP said I had a sinus infection...and the oncologist that said I had low iron...he called back and said "I AM SO SHOCKED, YOU HAVE CLL" he did not talk about cll at all... I finally went to Duke for 2nd opinion and they have been wonderful. I still can't stand my bloated stomach and bad anxiety, bad fatigue...ugh Thank you...this made me feel...NOT CRAZY also...tired of it all.
I have those exact symptoms. I had an ovarian tumor rupture when I was 13- they ignored my mom and me then, and it almost killed me. Now, the bloating, pressure- weird gut feeling, anxiety and dragging through me days- and I’m right back to when they said I was being dramatic. It’s infuriating to see others going through the same! I hope you get answers and relief!
Please see Dr Sircus' books.
The same thing happened to my son after a motercycle accident. His leg was shattered and he was in ICU for three weeks. His first night in ICU the nurse refused to give him more than Ibuprofin and accused my son of being a drug addict. Thank God we had a friend who was an executive at that hospital. We called her and she helped us….
That’s ridiculous! I’m an RN I respect a lot of MDs, but so many get it WRONG!
My son in law had a similar experience. He was refused pain meds at hospital for an unstable fracture of fibia Weber c. He had surgery yesterday with plate screws and a pin.
What nurses are being trained for pain these days is a disgrace. The young ones act like the word opiod is a cuss word.
@@maureenblutekraus3561 hospitals are no where to be in serious pain! They rarely treat it!
Opiods were created to manage moderate to severe pain. Is it any wonder that people with legit pain resort to street drugs.
Holy cow! This describes me 100% right now! Multiple doctors and no answers, I just keep getting sicker. I feel like I’m dying.
This is one of the FEW real patient stories! Bless her.
I’m so tired of stories where patient is socially and financially elite🤮
Even children are treated like this if dr ego doesn’t connect to patients’ parents and value their social standing. 5 states and on two drs were professionals. Of course, they stand out at life saving angels but this is ridiculous and we all still have to pay for this kind of dr harassment and neglect.
It really does seem to be true that if you have a mental health condition you are dismissed more easily. I went to the ER with severe stomach pain and the minute the doctor found out I had depression I could just see it in his face. I could see that he suddenly was not taking me seriously. I guess it's possible I was misreading him, but that's what it looked and felt like to me. They sent me home. The pain got worse and worse and it was only because of my mom taking me seriously and her driving me there that I went back. It turned out that I had a ruptured appendix. Depression does not cause severe pain. You may be more sensitive to minor pain or something like that because you are low in natural endorphins and you may get more stomach issues because there are connections between the brain and the stomach but it does not cause *severe* pain. Most people don't go to the ER for mild or moderate pain. You would think they would know that.
You are absolutely right. I am a nurse and I hear doctors talk bad about patients all the time. Especially patients with anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia.
Yep and you can totally see it in their face that was the worst part of the gaslighting for me when I knew what they are really thinking but I couldn’t definitively say what it was. The overall vibe is just hostile or patronising. I’ve had a whole ward walking around with that look and whispering about me before they started talking to me. Made me so much more ill it’s so unnecessary and confusing. I feel so sorry for this person it’s just horrible.
@@Jessicad654 Thank you for confirming that. I feel that coming from doctors at times. It's degrading. Going to someone for help for something going wrong with your body is very personal, a vulnerable feeling, and to have someone think or talk about you that way is painful. I have a hard time understanding it. If they don't go into the field caring about healing people you would think they would learn to care for people as they see people who are suffering from illnesses going to them for help. It's just completely alien to me. Even if they don't care, there should be a basic respect one gives to all human beings.
@@notmyrealaccount8564 Yes, I've felt that as well. Like I was saying to the nurse in this thread, when you go to someone for problems in your body it's personal, you're in a vulnerable state, and to be treated with a lack of respect is extremely degrading. I don't think they have any idea how painful this can be.
I had a ruptured appendix too which was initially 'diagnosed' as IBS. When my CRP levels started rising they asked whether I had a viral infection. Luckily they kept me in hospital just in case. Two days later a keyhole surgery revealed the ruptured appendix. The point is I suspected appendicitis due to how different it felt and how painful it was. Sometimes the gut feeling is right.
I always feel like it is a hit-or-miss gamble when I go to doctors. I do not like negotiating and strategizing in order to be taken seriously.
Agreed. I like how you termed it - "negotiating and strategizing." Unfortunately true sometimes.
Agreed. And how do you get something untrue deleted from your medical record?? Impossible.
Good grief!! This is insane!! Why am I hearing more and more stories like this?! Tiffany*Thinks for one, now dealing with stage 4 colon cancer, because she too was blown off by doctors😡 This makes me livid.
Yes, I follow Tiffany also! It's related to being female, in my opinion. The medical establishment has gas lit women from the beginning of time. As a Nurse, I know that we need to advocate for ourselves!
I also follow tiffanythinks. I see this all the time working in psych/ health care. Psych patients are often dismissed and not medically cleared and sent directly to psych. We then have had to send them back to the hospital because they had medical problems. I have sat with our patients in the ER and watch doctors dismiss them even when they had medical problems. Physicians don’t want to deal with psych patients and think inpatient psych must deal with these medical problems. If you have a psych diagnosis all these doctors see is psych they have tunnel vision because apparently if you have a psychiatric diagnosis everything is related to that diagnosis. I have worked in Geri psych inpatient for 12 years. It makes me sick. It does not matter where you are from U.S or what state you live in. I live in CT where we have we have a better health care system then some places. But this is common place. So if you have a psych diagnosis be aware this may happen to you. It is a form of discrimination that not many people see unless you work in healthcare. It’s sad and happens often more often then people think
@@ericablaschke3497 That’s horrible! I had no idea. 😢
@@tamiewert808 That doesn’t surprise me. 😖
Being our own advocate was my big take away from watching Tiffany.
Same thing happened to my SIL. Kept treating her for acid reflux. She had pancreatic cancer
I’m in the midst of my own battle with dismissive doctors. I’m having regular, yet random spikes in my blood pressure along with low heart rate. These doctors these days literally don’t even touch you! And if I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard the word “anxiety” I’d be rich! God bless you Nadia. This story gives me the will to keep fighting. ❤
It’s terrible how people treat each other.
It’s a tragedy when one is in humanitarian employment.
Much love to you ❤️
I'm going through this now. Started the beginning of last year with massive weight loss, shortly after a dr found a swollen lymph node under my arm. Continued to be very sick for months with no answers. Beginning of this year, things began to accelerate. Fever, night sweats, severe pain, itching, and now I have swollen lymph nodes EVERYWHERE!! Especially above my collarbone and several clusters in my neck. I've been seeing an oncologist who originally ordered labs that showed nothing major, just little things off, then the possibility of lymphoma was brought up, so then he ordered a head and neck ct which showed multiple enlarged lymph nodes (there's even more now), so then he tried to order a PET scan, which insurance denied after he fought with them about it for 2 weeks..a little over a week ago, the pain got so bad I had to go to the ER. That dr examined me and told me that there were lymph nodes all over the place, and he would 100% be thinking lymphoma or some other malignancy, and that I needed a biopsy like yesterday! So last week I went back to my oncologist, and he's calling the surgeon about doing a biopsy. Finally. And all this time, my suffering has just been getting worse and worse, to the point I literally feel like I'm dying. I'm really scared at how long this is all taking, but I'm hoping we're finally almost there.
This lady is not alone in being ignored by doctors. I also had similar symptoms and finally l went to a specialist who diagnosed cancer of the vulva and labia. Getting a good doctor is crucial.
can I ask your symptoms? I have what looks like a white pus filled nodule down there...I need to get it checked...it does not bother me but it is good size...about the size of the tip of my little finger. It does not hurt...its looks like a white pimple
@@lilpoohbear653 Go to a doctor asap. Don't ask people on the internet! Your health is important, take care of it!
@@ssansu I got myself an appt!! Thanks for caring:)))
Thank you so much for sharing this. My heart goes out to her wishing her a full recovery. I am going through the exact same thing with doctors. I'm going in circles with no answers, swollen lymph nodes for 6 months now, severe abdominal bloating and pain. Cat scans normal doctors don't want to do anything further, but just like her I have "the voice" in my head knowing something is wrong and i cannot find a doctor to take this serious.
Yes, keep going, I'm feeling the same way.
Same here I’m completely bedridden most days. Unable too swallow, fits, heat intolerance, sickness, bloating, huge lumps around my neck sleep apnea, facial spasms, coughing up blood even passing blood, chest pain heart palpitations and oxygen levels drop rapidly. doctors have dismissed all symptoms and insisted in treating me for depression and 6 weeks of tonsillitis without any further tests or medication for pain relief. I’m too sick too even see a doctor. As I know it’s pointless if they are unwilling too listen I’m wasting my time trying too convince them how sick I really am. I’m at a complete loss and feel totally helpless.
💜🐷💜 Go to the GYN Dr. Bloating is a sign of ovarian cancer.
Please reach out for help even if from strangers. The illness make you give up when there may be hope and no one should deal with that alone.
Have you been evaluated for ovarian and uterine cancer? Also, you may need a CT with and without IV contrast along with oral contrast. I would see if you had contrast with your CT scans and what kind. You also should be evaluated pancreatic CA. Good luck.
I’ve had it happen twice in my life. In my early twenties and then in my thirties. The latter lasted years to finally get the diagnosis of MS. I was treated horribly by neurologists. I am now in my early 60’s.
@@nickibreuer Hi, I'm glad you got an answer. I think i might have MS, but i struggle to get diagnose. Would you mind telling more about your symptoms and how you got diagnose ? If it's too personal and you don't want to share it, i'll undestand. 😀
My MS symptoms started early teens and I was dx at age 47 already advanced to secondary progressive. "Work on your depression and the fatigue and headaches will go away..." An advanced practice nurse in urology gave me the referral to the neurologist nobody else took me seriously.
I’m 69 and doctors now days only go by what the tests say. 20 years ago, doctors would use tests to eliminate what you don’t have and from there would use medical knowledge to FIGURE OUT what is wrong. Today, I’m so sad to say, true medical evaluation is gone.
This is so shocking but I can relate to a lot of it from my own experience.
Same happened to daughter. Kept being told to young, hormones. A year later 5 surgeons at the same time, chemo and radiation. I pushed for answers no one else saw.
You don't have the time to process the treatment after surviving through that.
Stage 4 happens from disallowing the fact and not prioritize a scan. Cancer doesn't have to reflect in lab work and often doesn't until it's to late.
I am sorry this happened to your daughter. It should not happen to anyone.
Yes and if it shows up in blood work if it isn't super high or low they just pass it up for next year's check up and don't inform you. Keep your records and read them
I had a similar experience with Kaiser Permanente. Gaslighting, accused of being a drug addict, dismissive attitude by primary physician, treatment took three years longer than needed, finally being heard by a young ER doctor who made a proper diagnosis and referred me immediately to a surgeon. This is not uncommon with healthcare systems in the Pacific Northwest.
It's not just in the Pacific Northwest unfortunately it's epidemic across the US Canada and from what I'm hearing even other countries.
Kaiser is THE WORST
@@raejae3755 Pacificare is even worse. I have had both. I got hit by a car, with metal in my skull and spinal injuries and couldn’t get even one night in the hospital. They just scraped the metal out of my head and stitched up my face and sent me home. A year later I found out my back had been broken.
Chi-Franciscan is horrible.
KAISER IS HORRIBLE. They will put you off and put you off. I think they are hoping you will die before they have to pay for any diagnostic testing. My parents have received horrible care from Kaiser. Once they sent my Dad home FROM THE ER in the middle of having a real heart attack. Within 20 min of being home we called 911 and the ambulance "accidentally" took him to a non-Kaiser hospital where he immediately went to the cath lab and had stents. The ambulance crew saved his life-they knew not to take him back to Kaiser.
It took 3 years of my Mom complaining about a lump, night sweats, and fatigue before they diagnosed her with terminal lymphoma. Maybe if they had listened 3 years earlier it would have been caught in time. 😡 I tell everyone to avoid Kaiser. Oh, and we're in SoCal.
I’m in the middle of the same type of reaction from docs while trying to get some troublesome symptoms understood or diagnosed. This is unforgivable. I’m so sorry for you and all the rest of us that are dealing with this.
Your body knows and will tell you and they should listen .. not everyone is the same .. we are not all the same!
I’m 44, and two years now I’ve had multiple symptoms and sudden extreme anxiety (that progressed after the symptoms). I’ve never in my life before 2 years ago suffered anxiety or panic attacks. I’m convinced something is medically wrong but bloodwork and tests they’ve done haven’t found anything. Now all my drs just dismiss my worsening symptoms as anxiety or I’m being a hypochondriac. It’s so disheartening and frustrating
Your story is so real. Some doctors are just lazy and lack luster in medicine. Some just want the money, when others are fully aware that they alone can't treat a patient. It takes a group who cares.
This is horrendous. My cousin had a bump that he knicked when shaving 2x’s and they dxd with Lymphoma immediately. I don’t think he had any of these symptoms. My cousin is a male. Could that be part of the issue?!?
I completely understand what she went through and have tons of compassion for her. I don’t think I have cancer, but I’ve been treated exactly the same by a local physician, PA and ER doctors, when I KNEW something was wrong. Be it fibromyalgia or long Covid or central pain from ruptured discs in lumbar. I asked many times for an MRI of spine and was told it was “anxiety.” Took me over a year to get sent to current dr ( a woman) who believes me. I’ll pray for you and I get it!
Some of the worst doctors I’ve had were women, on average they’re no damn better, they just think they are. Most doctors, all 57 pronouns of them SUCK. I know this in spades.
I have no words for the horrible, in compassionate, despicable treatment you received. I’m so sorry but I’m glad you stood your ground and received the treatment and care you deserved from the beginning
Hi Nadia, I watched your video today (09/08/24) and was fuming at the doctors who treated you so poorly. Fortunately, the second doctor you saw definitely cared for your well-being. I sincerely hope the lymphoma is in remission and that you have thought about changing medical groups.
Be well, Nadia.
This story was so painful to listen to because I went through something very similar this year. Turned out to be colon cancer and I was also treated horribly. My PCP at the time told me my stomach pain (that was EXCRUCIATING to the point of me having SI) was because of swallowing post-nasal drip…because I was sniffling because she made me cry. Treated me like a drug seeker as I was sobbing knowing I was dying, and cut me off before I could tell her all of my symptoms too.
It was two years before a diagnosis, and I had horrible symptoms and lab results that should have been a red flag. Then all of a sudden everyone cared after my colonoscopy showed a HUGE tumor, and surgery happened within a week of being diagnosed because I was so sick they didn’t think I was going to make it.
Now I’m a nurse and I know how to talk to doctors and push back, but at some point you’re really just at their mercy if they believe you or not to investigate. And you’re already at a breaking point because you’re so sick and having to get someone to listen is just unbearable. It’s such a dehumanizing thing to go through. Thank you for sharing your story, it helped me process some of the trauma I’ve been going through 💜
Sorry you went through that! :(
Do you mind sharing what red flags were in your blood test?
I have been having rectal bleeding since pregnancy. Thankfully my family doctor referred me to a specialist right away but I keep postponing the appt because i think it might be caused by internal hemorrhoids from pregnancy and bad eating habits. I did a full blood work and all my vitamins and everything else is good but now I’m thinking I should still have it looked at?
@@camilapereira6772 of course! All of my normal blood work was fine but my doctor did an iron panel and I was SCARY deficient, my normal labs just hadn’t caught up yet (they eventually did but not for a while). That at least got them to take me seriously and start digging further. I’m glad your doctor is taking you seriously!
I definitely think you should go to the appointment! Even if it’s hemorrhoids you’ll be able to have peace of mind. (Pro tip: if you do have hemorrhoids or GI issues a bidet is a lifesaver. I got mine for $50 on Amazon and attached it in five minutes, best purchase I’ve ever made.) And the doctor might be able to help with different solutions. Since you’re bleeding I think it could be worthwhile to ask about an iron panel just to make sure everything’s ok.
Edited to add: I was feeling EXHAUSTED for a while and that was one of the big signs.
Thank you for sharing such a personal story. I really appreciate it. I’m glad you’re well now. It must’ve been so frustrating! :( there are no words.
My doctor did a full iron panel already. Which was shockingly good for someone who just had a baby and is bleeding from what I think are “hemorrhoids”. My ferritin was at 40 only 4 months postpartum and my hemoglobin very good and all the other levels were within the range. He also checked for B12, vitamin D, etc and they were also shockingly high. So I don’t think I’m having issues absorbing nutrients, but you’re right I should have it looked at! Thanks for the tip, a bidet is actually a really good idea for someone struggling with hemorrhoid. Thanks a lot, you’re so kind!
I am so sorry to hear this. Absolutely heartbreaking. We are doing a follow up story (more on medical gas lighting). Would you be able to do an interview and share your story? If so, would you be able to email us at community@thepatientstory.com.
Thank you so much for sharing your story. This happened to me too. I was dying - literally days from death and finally a doctor did exploratory surgery. I lost everything - my entire life. Family thought I was suddenly crazy/did not believe me bc no diagnoses. thank you ❤️❤️
dear Pamela, what is exploratory surgery? and what did they find? trying to save my life, years upon years of dangerous and perhaps kife threatening over medication for bipolar and very sick. am getting closer just by spending most time that i don't feel ill researching since multitudes of doctors have not only dismissed me but really really harmed me, perhaps fatally
Yes! They treated you like you were a hypochondriac or crazy! I experienced this too. I knew I was sick for years. Turns out it was colon cancer. I'm so glad you're telling your story! 🙏🏻🫶🍀 Blessings!!!
Cancer free almost a year🎉
My brother, father and grandfather were gaslighted by their medical team over and over, until they got to the point where they were terminal and it was too late to do anything. I was trying to get to see my doctor because I had a lump on my neck for four weeks, but the receptionist said I was not a priority and made an appointment for the end of June. After 8 weeks of having this lump, I had to put in a formal complaint in order to get seen by my GP. On Tuesday this week I finally got to see my doctor and he urgently referred me to the hospital. They phoned me yesterday and I go for scans and biopsy tomorrow, I believe I have a two to three weeks wait then for the results.
Almost my exact experience before being diagnosed with cervical cancer at 25.
Nadia, I am so sorry this happened to you.
Sad. I'm glad she fought for treatment and finally got it. I hope she will be cured. This story is so moving because I am fighting for family members who are ill. Two things resonate most: 1) things that we call "mental illnesses" are really physical illness manifesting in our mental processes. I've seen in other cases where "mental" illnesses were really symptomatic of life threatening physical illnesses. 2) How hard we must fight within the medical system to get the care and treatment we need. (CT scans, MRIs very important.) I will add it is very difficult to remove carcinogens from our home, food, water but we must do our best
There is no better advocate for your health, than YOURSELF! I struggled with drug addiction and even though it's been 12 years since I've touch anything, I still have to fight to be heard... I started getting sick several years ago and constantly heard I wouldn't be getting A B or C medications and that maybe I should see a psychiatrist... It took going into liver failure to be taken a little more seriously and now it's taken going blind in one eye to be given any type of respect. I'm still struggling for a diagnosis, but I'm hopeful someone will listen to me!
Best thing I heard: “Your job is to get the doctors to find out what’s wrong with you.”
Being an unrelenting advocate for yourself is so important. Unfortunately, having to work so hard when you feel so awful is really tough.
Excellent interview and great storytelling.
She is a warrior! I’ve learned a lot from this video. From now on, I am my own body’s boss. I am in charge and I am a force to be reckoned with. However, I’ll try to stay nice to the doctors that are dismissing my symptoms. ❤️ Thank you for the encouragement and the timing is spot on.