Weaskedmembers of theBuzzFeed Communityto tell us about the worst advice they’ve ever received from a doctor.
“My gynecologist suggested I use a tanning bed to treat my seasonal depression.
When I asked about the health risks, she replied that it was safer than being dead.
I believe she was having trouble grasping suicidal ideation.”
Anonymous
2.
He dismissed it immediately, saying I wanted attention because it was all on the baby.
I called my health insurance, threatened to sue, and I think they fired him.
I can’t remember.
“When I was a new (single) mom, I was having significant pain in my wrists.
I was referred to a physical therapist, who told me the solution was not to hold my baby.
I’m a single mom.
The baby was two weeks old.
Yeah, okay, I won’t hold him?”
He said this with full sincerity.
The nurses in the room didn’t speak up.
My toddler HEARD HIM SAY THIS."
Needless to say, I did not take his advice.
My pediatrician referred me, and the allergist gave my kid an Epi-pen and a prescription for Benadryl.
They both were utterly horrified and disgusted by my story.
I wish I could go back in time and take action against that SOB."
“I (now 41F) went to my doctor (also female) for a yearly physical.
We had known each other for 10+ years at this point.
I mentioned I had a low libido.
Just go along with the motions, and it’ll be fine.'”
“I was suffering from insomnia.
My doctor told me to try reading the Bible before bed.”
“I had a bad reaction to a birth control implant in my arm.
I filed a complaint with the medical board and his hospital, but I doubt anything happened.
“I have a facial movement disorder that is painful every waking minute.
I have been to so many specialists that your head would spin.
No diagnosis and no relief.
I said, ‘I am begging you to find someone to help me.’
I am not embarrassed about my face.
I just can’t get the pain to subside so that I can enjoy anything in my life.
Neurologists have dismissed me before, but this really takes the cake.”
“In 1984, I began experiencing urinary frequency with no idea of what was causing it.
One urologist surmised I had problems in my marriage.
I even had our water tested, trying to find answers.
Finally, I went to a major hospital in Cleveland.
There, I had a uterine biopsy that determined I had a condition called interstitial cystitis.
I was happy to know I wasn’t out of my mind and actually had a medical condition.
Unfortunately, my experience is not unusual.”
I called my midwife, and she said nonchalantly that it sounded like I was having a miscarriage.
She told me that I could ride it out at home.
“At the office visit, they performed an ultrasound and discovered my son was very much alive.
I had experienced a burst subdural hematoma, not a miscarriage.
“Since I was 14, I’ve had terrible period cramps with extremely heavy bleeding.
Bowel movements were so painful, I’d scream.
Campus doctors in college told me the pain was from anxiety and to calm myself down.
No painkillers, no tests, nothing.
That week, he performed a laser laparoscopy.
Turns out my organs were glued together with endometrial tissue (on the outside of my uterus)!
He was able to burn a lot off, and it helped me.
But all those years of unnecessary suffering…why?”
“I was 19 and about 35 pounds overweight.
At your size, you might afford to not eat for a while.'”
He started laughing at me and said, ‘You have money.
What’s there to be depressed about?’
He was dead serious.”
“I went to a neurologist after years of horrible headaches.
During the initial interview, I told him I smoked marijuana.
I ended up having a rotten tooth that, once removed, relieved the headaches.
Her nurses apologized after the doctor left the room.
I never got an ‘official’ answer to what was happening.”
These experiences have left an impact.
Thanks, healthcare system!
And they wonder why people google their symptoms so much.”
“The doctor first refused to read the email from the doctor who referred me about her concerns.
Then, he told me that I looked fine.
He said he went by how people looked to him and that nothing was wrong with me.
I had my blood drawn and left without making a follow-up appointment.
The doctor who sent me got a letter with the results and a diagnosis of hypogammaglobulinemia.
I never went back, so I don’t know if I needed treatment or not.
“I have a condition known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).
It’s terrible and unpredictable.
My left arm is affected, so I can still function.
Thank goodness I’m right-handed.
I said, ‘I know it’s rare, and yes, I do have it.
Two chronic pain specialists and a surgeon said I have it.’
“This is terrible advice.
CRPS is a pain condition, and pain meds are part of it.
I didn’t end up getting my meds, and he said to try yoga or meditating.
I went to a walk-in clinic, and the doctor there took pity on me and filled my prescription.
“This happened to me just last month.
I went to my primary care physician to discuss pelvic pain.
The doctor says we should get me looked at as possibly having endometriosis.
Absolutely a good call.
The doctor follows up with, ‘You should have a child because that often puts it in remission.’
“‘You’re too young to have depression.’
I proceeded to fail out of college due to, you guessed it, being bedridden from depression.
Thanks, doc.”
“As a woman, I’ve been treated differently, especially as a woman of childbearing age.
At age 20, I was diagnosed with stage-three endometriosis.
I cried the entire time and had to be held down by two nurses.
Afterward, I could barely move.
My doctor finally sent a prescription in for me when my mom called and chewed them out.
Three weeks later, I was in horrible pain again, but on the other side.
The surgeon who did my emergency surgery scoffed at me.
It’s the size of seven quarters.'
That was all on one ovary with zero cysts, not even three weeks prior.
Then, when I asked him for a hysterectomy (same visit), he told me no.
At that point, I’d already had five or six reproductive surgeries.
He was insulting and dismissive and told me to deal with it.
He wasn’t the only a-hole doctor I dealt with over the years.
A nurse was stationed in my tiny room to push more meds as needed.
“I came out to my OB-GYN and told her I was a lesbian.
I sat there completely dumbfounded and instantly went looking for another OB-GYN the following day.
I never thought I would hear such a thing from a healthcare professional.”
“I was having a bunch of weird symptoms that affected numerous bodily systems.
After doing extensive research, I really suspected that I had Lyme Disease.
I went to my primary care doctor, and she ordered the Elisa test, which came back negative.
Since I was also having neurological symptoms, she referred me to a neurologist.
It was down to my waist, but I had worn it like that for over two decades.”
“I thought the neurologist was a quack and went to see a different doctor.
The new doctor ordered a Western Blot test, and guess what?
I was positive for Lyme Disease.
I took the antibiotics, and all the strange symptoms disappeared.”
I subsequently had a hysterectomy as the only option left due to the severity of my endometriosis.
I was 37 at the time.”
I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t lose weight in a healthy way.
He nodded sagely and said, ‘Have you tried cutting carbs?'”
Simply getting out of bed was an extraordinary challenge.
After explaining this to a psychiatrist, I was told, ‘You just need to follow a routine.
Go to the gym.
Get yourself to the library.’
DON’T YOU THINK I WOULD IF I COULD?!”
“I was constantly sick because of my tonsils as a teenager (strep throat and tonsillitis).
I was sick to my stomach, had a hard time breathing, and always had a sore throat.
I missed so much school that my parents got a letter about truancy.
I repeatedly complained of these issues to my primary doctor’s office.
One person told me teenage girls don’t eat that much, so it was fine.
Eventually, I got a referral to an ENT doctor.
I’m so glad we pushed to see a specialist.
It’s been 20 years, and my mom and I still joke, ‘Just drink some juice.
You’re a teenage girl!’
any time someone’s sick.
It’s the worst medical advice I’ve ever received.”
I laid in bed at my parents’ house and dropped 20 pounds in five days.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
TheNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineis 1-800-273-8255.
Other international suicide helplines can be found atbefrienders.org.
The Trevor Project, which provides help and suicide-prevention resources for LGBTQ youth, is 1-866-488-7386.
