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Doctors Describe The Times Their Patient Was Right And They Were Wrong

There are few people we should feel more comfortable putting our faith and trust in than doctors.

After all, we go to them to make sure we are still healthy, or when we are worried that something is wrong, and want their opinion.

However, being human, doctors can make mistakes just like the rest of us.

Sometimes missing details which even the most experienced doctors might miss.

Other times, in sad and disturbing cases, owing completely to willful ignorance, despite the grave concerns of their patients.

Sometimes with life and death consequences.


Redditor BigBadZord was curious to hear from doctors about the times they didn't listen to their patients and made serious misdiagnoses, leading them to ask:
"Doctors of Reddit, when was a patient right about something but you insisted they were wrong until it got serious?"

Always Assume They're Telling The Truth

"It didn't 'get serious' under my father's care, he just thought she was joking at first."

"He was treating a woman for headaches and she dropped that she had been the getaway driver in a robbery where shots had been fired."

" Bullet was lodged in base of her skull."- BigBadZord

Deep Secrets

"Psychiatrist here."

"I was at the brief internment unit, acute psychotic cases, mostly, and there was this woman that had been there for some time."

"She had paranoid delusions about the Russian mob trying to get her, complete with hallucinations and everything."

"Her family had confirmed it was all made up in her head and nobody was following her."

"She had been getting medication for some time and her symptoms had improved a lot, she no longer believed she was in danger or being hunted, and everything seemed to be going well."

"As the procedure usually goes, the staff contacted her family so she could start going out for the weekends with them before being fully discharged."

"First weekend away from the hospital she got kidnapped by the Russian mob and taken somewhere else to repay a debt she apparently had but nobody in her family knew about."

"Happy ending though, she was found and gotten to safety quite quickly because we had already spoken to the police about her 'delusions' just in case and they were quick to act when she disappeared."

"And yes, people got locked up and other women were found."

"It was, all in all, a happy/satisfying ending."- Thalkarsh

More Common Than People Think...

"Patient stated live cockroach in ear."

"I said probably not and ate my words."- ChameleonMami

A Mother Knows

"I had a patient in his mid-30s establishing care with me for 'difficulty reading'."

"He actually came in with his mother and was very shy, which I thought was very strange."

"He said he worked at a library and words would get 'jumbled up' while reading."

"He had zero additional issues."

"I actually did a very thorough neurological exam and found zero problems."

"I asked him to read a magazine out loud at different speeds and he did it perfectly."

"I said everything looked fine and wanted to order some labs."

"I honestly felt he was just a strange character."

"They agreed to labs but mom was very pushy to do head imaging. I said we could, but I ordered the CT as routine and by the time labs came back he was extremely low on vitamin D."

"I called saying we should replace it and hold off on the scan."

"Not only did mom not want the scan cancelled, she wanted an MRI and she wanted it STAT."

"I basically got tired of trying to be reassuring and just ordered what she wanted."

"He had the biggest glioblastoma I have ever seen."

"Go mom."- bombas239

Difficult, Or Just Right?

"Without going into specifics, a patient was brought into our ER for like the sixth time in six months with the same thing."

"Fits, progressive neurological symptoms AND a label of a normal MRI scan done 4 months earlier with a referral to a 'functional neurologist' to basically deal with what was labelled as psychosomatic neurological symptoms on account of the patient having their first neurological event whilst they were on the phone."

"Getting some bad news, having a normal MRI and having seen a neurologist who couldn’t find anything wrong, again four months earlier."

"Thankfully, due to the patient rocking up in a wheelchair this time round as they were unable to stand, one of the senior ER doctors brought them in to do another scan."

"Cue me, walking in to see a 'neuro patient who is going to see the specialist as there is nothing wrong with them'."

"Until the very day I die, I shall never, ever forget my horror when I saw their repeat MRI scan on my computer screen just before entering the room."

"The patient had a golf ball-sized tumor in the very back of their brain and was in huge, huge trouble with rapidly progressive neurological signs."

"I felt so terrible for both the patient and their family."

"The first thing I did was to tell them that we were very wrong, there was something physically wrong and apologized for the 10 or so times they had been sent home from ER and told that they had been making up the symptoms and signs."

"The family were just grateful that they now knew what was going on."

"The patient died a month or so later."

"I tell this to all of my junior colleagues and I am extremely wary of how people are labelled as having a fictitious illness when they present to hospital."- feetofire

Can You Sal "Malpractice"?

"Not a Dr but the patient."

"3 years ago I started to have pain in my feet/toes that worked it’s what up progressively up my body."

"My uric acid shot up so my Drs assumed it was gout, even though it really didn’t make much sense."

"Till one morning I wake up and am paralyzed from the waste down, legit could not bare weight without falling to the ground."

"Of course I’m in and out of the ER but they really aren't doing jack."

"Keep sending me home while paralyzed with no help."

"Over a few days the paralysis moves up to my neck and below."


"Trouble eating, extremely painful, paralyzed and having respiratory issues."

"I get sent to a bigger hospital where I lose bladder and bowel function."

"They run blood work and just watch and wait."

"Finally a few days in get an MRI which shows signs of poly neuropathy, radiology recommends LP to rule out rare neurological autoimmune disease."

"Instead the team believes I’m faking it."

'Stop all meds besides psychiatric ones and wait me out for 10ish days."

"I was literally tortured and abused by all kinds of medical professionals, physical mental emotional etc."

"Finally I fail an EMG and LP are finally done as I begin to go into respiratory failure."

"Finally am diagnosed with an extremely rare variant of Guillain Barre Syndrome."

"They have no clue what to do as they hadn’t encountered it in adolescence med and give me the wrong fucking treatment."

"Fast forward 3yrs and I’m still a quadriplegic with nerve damage in every organ system and have never recovered."

"Nor will I ever."

"They failed me at every step of the way and now I have to live with no quality of life and as a quadriplegic."

"As well as the trauma of all that happened to me which has caused severe ptsd."

"Believe your f*cking patients!"

"Worst thing that can happen is you run the expensive test and it comes back normal."- Ok-Lab-1212

When You Can't Trust The Doctor OR The Vet...

"Not a doctor but a patient."

"I was suffering from severe skin issues for quite sometime."

"Bad rashes that would render my hands unusable."

"Fingers would get so dry and burn."

"Both hands."

"Happened repeatedly when I would do the same activities."

"I spent many nights up unable to sleep from pain, I researched every which way possible."

"I was also having eye problems, I felt like something was in my eye all the time."

"I was also getting bit by bugs that were so tiny, but it would only happen at bedtime, and I lived alone."

"I never had bites, but the rashes on my hands, and other random parts of my body."

"Eventually my dog started suffering with some o the same issues."

"Constantly itching, was seeing the little bugs in the tub after bathing her, which I was doing 2-3 times a week bc she was suffering!"

"After seeing 1 general practice doctor, 2 urgent care doctors, 2 dermatologists and 1 eye doctor."

"Oh and bringing my dog to the vet, if they even were willing to listen to me, which most weren't, it was a general conclusion that I should see a mental health professional."

"I begged and pleaded for them just to listen and all they could tell me was that I was nuts and imagining things."

"After many nights of researching the internet I established I had an infestation of bird/chicken mites!"

"The place I was living had a chicken coupe in the backyard! "

"This was years ago and no doctors had any experience with these pests."

"What a nightmare.'

"I felt so alone because everyone had me thinking maybe I was crazy and it was all in my head. fast forward 4 years later, bird mites are recognized by pest control, doctors, vets, etc."

"Ill never get those nights I spent awake in pain and suffering being forced to figure out what was causing me so much pain, i'll never get them back."

"I'll never go to any of those doctors ever again."- sickerthan_yaaverage

Luckily A Bit Ahead Of The Game

"Patient here."

"And I’m a physical therapist."

"Went to the ER and said 'I think there’s a 97% chance I have a DVT'."

"'I initially thought it was a calf strain as my Wells Criteria was low, but over the last 2 days I’m pretty sure it’s a DVT, here’s why''."

"Then explained my reasoning."

"I screen for DVTs daily at my job, particularly for my post-op patients after a knee or hip replacement, or other surgery."

"Basically as a PT I have a very thorough calf/foot/knee/ankle exam, and nothing I did made the pain better or worse."

"Meds didn’t help."

"Elevating my leg didn’t help."

"I also had gotten a lab done earlier that day & had an elevated d-dimer."

"D-dimer can mean a lot of things, but a blood clot is one of them."

"I was a textbook case."

"Cross country flight a couple days before, fell asleep & didn’t move the whole flight, dehydrated on flight from a wedding the night before, leg swelling & pain that doesn’t improve with typical measures, long term birth control user, and BMI higher than I would like it to be currently."

"All the risk factors were there."

"It got missed."

"I got sent home only to end up in a different ED 2 days later, where they properly diagnosed my DVT."

"The entirety of my lower leg was clotted by that point because the clot had grown over several days."

"Showed up again 2 days after that because my heart rate was out of control & had some chest pain."

"Ended up with a lovely PE."

"I’m lucky I’m still kicking, and that it wasn’t way worse."

"Have seen many patients die of PE."

"My leg still has some issues which makes it hard to walk & do my job."

"My lungs are doing okay though."- ok_MJ

Dangerous Ignorance

"Patient here."

"When I was 16 I noticed a mole on my shoulder blade that I didn’t recognize and it was already sizable and a different color from all my other moles."

"First I had to convince my mom to take me to the dermatologist, which took a bit since she’s an ER nurse and brushes everything off from my sister and I if it isn’t a true/imminent emergency."

"The dermatologist was a complete tool, trying to show off to his medical intern, and not only dismissed but didn’t even make note of the mole I was concerned about."

"He did, however, zero in on the one in my boob, the one I’d had my entire life and had never changed."

"An absolute creep abusing his power towards a teenager and right in front of her mother."


"He insisted on a biopsy of that one which meant his male intern had to have his face right up in my 16 year old cleavage to punch it out."

"He unfortunately did such a good job on the biopsy punch that it never grew back, and I quite liked that particular mole."

"As expected, that came back negative."

"10 months later, I insisted on going back because it appeared to me that the already sizable mole was probably doubled in size, now bigger than a pencil eraser which is one of the parameters of concern."

"Back to the same shitty derm, but this time he didn’t have anyone to show off to and I was in for the second time in less than a year, so he listened that time and biopsied it."

"No idea how much it actually grew though since he didn’t bother to write it down the first time."

"That one comes back dysplastic precancerous."

“'Dysplastic nevus is a mole that exists in the spectrum between a benign mole and melanoma'."

"He excised that in office, but the excision was bigger than it should have been had he listen the first time and I have a sizable scar still."

"Had I listened to his advice the first time and brushed it off as nothing, I very likely would have had skin cancer before I graduated high school."

"Never went back to that sh*tty dermatologist again."- deCantilupe

Doctors literally have people's lives in their hands.

While we should always err on the side of trusting them, it's also important that we let our voices be heard, and if they refuse to listen, get a second opinion.

After all, as evidenced by these stories, no one is immune from making a mistake.

People Confess Which Things They're Below Average At Doing

One Redditor asked: 'What are you below average at?'

As much as we might like to be, we can't be good at literally everything.

But when we struggle with something that everyone else seems to naturally "get," that can be a hard thing to accept.

Redditor B**IZDeepInUrMom asked:

"What are you below average at?"

Legible Handwriting

"My handwriting is nuts one person described it as looking like a serial killer's mad scribbles."

- Hopper-1986

"A nurse once told me I sign with doctor scribbles."

- tonytonyrigatony

Carrying a Tune

"Singing. I’m very bad. I only sing in the car and I still fear I may one day be cautioned by police for being so terrible."

- 24-Hour-Hate

"Do you know why I pulled you over? That B was way off-pitch, sir (or ma'am)!! I'm arresting you for murdering that song!"

- Abbadon0666

"One of my biggest fears is pocket-dialing someone while I’m singing in the car."

- hockeybag2

The Quiet Ones

"Words spoken per day."

- CrediblyHandsome

"Why say many word, when few word do trick?"

- TitanBrews

"Yessss, someone who gets it. I use like four words every day at school."

- harryyougoboom

"I go through more, but it's mostly 'Excuse me' and 'Thank you' and other s**t I'm required to say 1,000 times per day to not be thought a sociopath."

- RichardBottom

Listening Skills

"Listening. I'm trying, but it's tough to change a lifetime habit."

- Actual_Green_7433

"I'm sorry?"

- keeeeener

"Did you say something?"

- BigTenBiden

Basic Social Interactions

"Social interactions."

- DxNxWx

"I SUCK at social interactions."

"'Nice weather today.'"

"'Thanks.'"

"A new cringe core memory unlocked."

- antoine-sama

No Flirting Game

"I'm not good at noticing when someone flirts with me. I'm not even very good at knowing the difference between an extrovert being friendly and them hitting on me."

- Not_Jim3

"My current girlfriend and I met at a club. I was crossing the dance floor; she got in my way, and we had an awkward encounter. Happened a couple more times before I got the clue: 'Oooh, I think she wants us to meet...'"

"Other than my girlfriend, I maintain I have never been flirted with or hit on once."

"Not. Once."

- clever_username_eh

Vertically Challenged

"Height. I'm only five feet tall."

- Damseldoll

"Same."

- FlyingFox32

Elusive Math Skills

"I've always been the kind of guy who 'seems smart' because I'm good with English and communication, and I'm good enough at the kind of 'real world' math like percentages, multiplication, addition and subtraction, etc."

"Then it gets to sh*t like algebra word problems, trig, calculus and I'm suddenly the dumbest person alive and the world thinks I deserve to die alone in poverty. Go figure, eh?"

- amadeus2490

Poor Sleeping Habits

"Sleeping. As of writing this, I have been struggling to catch up on sleep for about a month and I have been awake for about 16 hours and it is 7:42 AM. I’m so tired."

- HeatoStrike

In Need of Driver's Ed.

"Driving. Watch out for me in the streets!"

- Jiggy_Turner

"Parallel parking. I’ve been driving for two years now and I’m utter garbage at it. I refuse to parallel park even if there’s no angle parking available."

- n123breaker2

Mind Reading

"My wife claims I’m a pretty lousy mind reader, and I’d have to agree with her."

- imacmadman22

Negative Self-Talk

"Probably the ability to feel good about myself."

"Like, why do I think I'm ugly, or why do I think I'm a good person or why the f**k do I think I am Autistic? Probably because I'm dumb as soup."

- Jerney_to_Nirvana

"Or you just don't trust your capacity to see yourself more. I struggle with that s**t."

- dustinAlt

Investing

"Investing. I have no clue what to do."

- cadcamm99

"No one does. It's either people who were rich from the beginning or some random guy who tries to sell you stuff."

- RichieiRocket

Beauty is in the Eye of...

"Convincing my wife she's beautiful."

"The good fight continues."

- toolatealreadyfapped

Clean and Tidy

"Cleaning. I’m slowly getting better but I’m definitely below average."

- SnooGoats7133

"Bro, same, I don’t try to be a slob but everything ends up a mess because I get distracted."

- N3rdy_Cat

"Yeah! And if you’re like me you will not notice until it’s BAD."

- SnooGoats7133

If this was not one of the most relatable threads we've read to date, then we don't know what would be.

The funny thing is that, many of these struggles are struggles we all have or at least think that we have. Perhaps that means that we're really not doing as badly as we think we are, and really we just need to show ourselves some grace.

Closeup of two coffee-filled mugs held by a dating couple.
Jonathan J. Castellon/Unsplash

Finally going out on a date with the person you've been chatting with online is a very exciting yet nerve-wracking first step.

But when you finally meet the person with whom you've developed romantic chemistry online, one of two things can happen–Fireworks or bombs.

In other words, being face-to-face with a prospective love interest for the first time can either confirm your hopes or suspicions about the person whom you know very little about online.

Curious to hear nightmare stories about dating life, Redditor sweet_chick283 asked:

"What's the worst date you've ever been on?"

People and their obsession with their electronic devices is getting out of hand.

Mr. Invisible

"Sat for 15 minutes to hear him talk about himself, work and his future plans, and then as he asked me 'what about you?" his hand went to reach his phone and he starts scrolling. I can't stress this enough, his hand reaches his phone at the same time those words left his mouth. It felt to me like he already decided whatever I am going to say was going to be boring so might as well multitask as I talk."

– dracarysthemdown

Self-Incriminating Date

"Went on a date with a chick that took my phone and put a picture of her on my Snapchat, I got 20 messages almost instantly from chicks that knew her and told me to stay away. She was 2 months pregnant, didn’t tell me till my friends did. That was a wild date for sure. She was very upset."

– ThatBrenon131

The Salesperson

"Tinder date. She pulled out her Ipad and started introducing me various insurance plans she is selling."

– IndigoldWeM

"Oooooh god that's almost as bad as trying to recruit a first date into your MLM line..."

– OP

"I had a date that tried to sell me whole life insurance. She told me before the date to meet her at her office. It was downtown so I thought nothing of it. Then she walks me to her desk and tells me to sign some papers."

– Pissedtuna

Sometimes, dates turn out to be disastrous through no fault of participants.

Things Went Downhill

"I thought I would be a little more adventurous and suggest that we go skiing for a first date. At the time, I lived in the south where the closest ski mountain was 2.5 hours away and it was opening day. It became clear that we probably didn’t click on the drive up, but I figured we’d still have a fun day of skiing. On the first run, maybe 100 yards in, she falls hard and tears her acl, lcl, and mcl. It was a very long and awkward car ride back, and I ended up staying with her for several days after to help care for her since she lived alone and was new to the area. She was a very nice woman, but that was just a lot for a first date."

– houston_g

People were forced to make a run for it.

The Great Escape

"So many bad dates over the years. One of the worst was this guy I met on a dating site. We agreed to go to dinner at a nearby restaurant. Turned out his profile picture really was of himself but it was just a 'few' years old. BS! In person, he straight up looked like Santa Claus on vacation complete with the Hawaiian shirt. I was a little unhappy about that but it wasn’t the end of the world. I thought well maybe he is jolly and fun. That turned out to be a big NO."

"So we ordered dinner and he started talking about ex wife #1. She was a b*tch and crazy. Ex wife #2 was also a b*tch and crazy. Ex wife #3 was a psycho crazy b*tch from hell. He told me ex #3 hit him in the face with a frying pan. He seemed to enjoy my horrified reaction. That was, until I asked what he did he do to her to make her smack him upside the head with said frying pan. Personally, I thought it was an awful date and I couldn’t wait to go home. He ordered dessert. :/"

"mentioned getting home soon and he said We can discuss that later as he was paying for my meal and we were going to enjoy our time together. I waited for a few minutes and politely excused myself to the ladies room. He stood up and watched me go in and was watching me when I came back to the table. It was as if he knew I wanted to bolt out the door. I got my chance when he finally went to the men’s room. I handed the waitress money for my food plus tip and told her I was on a very bad date. I left the restaurant just before he came back from the men’s room. He saw me through the front windows and started screaming like a lunatic. I don’t know what he was saying but I ran to my car!"

– SassyDiva13

Tasks First, Eat Later

"Went out with a guy from POF who lived an hour away from me. (I live in the sticks so this is normal.) I texted him to let him know I was on my way and this dipsh*t proceeded to text me every few minutes to ask me if I was still coming. So much so that I finally had to call him and tell him to stop because I can't text and drive at the same time. In hindsight, I should have turned around and went home right then."

"Finally I get to the place we were meeting. It was a store parking lot. Since we were meeting there and going somewhere else right away, I texted him and said I was there, where are you and he replies insisting I come into the store. He absolutely would NOT come outside to meet me. So I had to spend the first hour of this date following him around an auto parts store while he pawed through every display and bin, not talking to me very much at all."

"Finally he was ready to leave the store and I thought we were going to eat, as we had originally planned. I was starving but he said no, I gotta go return my work uniforms to my old job first. Uhh, okay I guess."

"So we drove in his car to this factory where he parks and says hop out so I can lock my car up. It was cold and rainy so of course he expected me to stand out in it? After like 15 minutes I was like f'k this and I went in the lobby of this place to get out of the rain. For some reason it took this guy 45 more minutes to return his uniforms so I was glad I went into the building to get warm. But apparently this was a huge no-no to him because when he came back out from wherever he went to return this stuff he glared at me like I just dropped trou and took a sh*t in his lap and asked me why I didn't just wait outside. In the cold rain. For almost an hour."

"At last he decided it was time to go to the restaurant. I sat there trying to keep a poker face while he talked to the waitress like he was addressing a toddler, messily stuffed his face and chewed with his mouth open wide and kept glancing around every 30 seconds like he was scared someone was going to see him out with a woman in public."

"Plus he kept asking me invasive and crude sex questions the whole time too. Lovely."

"I quickly inhaled a salad and managed to pay for it at the front without him seeing me, I told him I needed to go to the little girl's room and bounced. Luckily this restaurant was across the highway from the store where I had left my car so I crossed it real quick and blocked him everywhere before I even got the car warmed up."

"I'll betcha a million bucks and a house salad that a**hole was married."

– produkt921

It's unfortunate that people on dating apps aren't always forthright about themselves.

Older Woman

"I wouldn’t say it was the worst but it was the most interesting. Met a lady on a dating app. A Beautiful woman who claimed to be 38 which is my age. I suspected through the pictures she might be in her early 40s. Her profile said she had 3 kids. We talked and she seemed cool. We then met for dinner a week into talking. I could tell she was older but looked younger than she should because of Botox. Within 15 minutes she said she had to tell me the truth because she really likes me. She does not have 3 kids but 6! She is not 38 but 48!"

– bobismymother

The Date That Wasn't A Date But Actually Was A Date

"I didn't even know it was a date."

"Girl I worked with was talking up a breakfast place in a nearby town, and I was like 'that sounds great, let's go this weekend!'"

"We went, I had a great time, the pancakes were amazing, and I had fun hanging out with a work friend outside of work. I thought she had a good time too, she was laughing and fully engaged with the conversation just like normal."

"Like three weeks later, I was talking to another coworker when it all came out that she'd been telling people we went on a terrible date, how I didn't even make a move or flirt or do anything that guys she goes on dates with normally do, and how I even talked about a date with another girl at one point."

"I was flabbergasted, my fat a** genuinely thought we were just a couple of friends getting pancakes."

– SadlyReturndRS

If you're no longer in the dating pool because you found your person, congrats.

There's no doubt you have kissed some frogs along the way to finding true love.

Because if it weren't for all those "horrible dates," you might not be able to appreciate what you've got when the right person comes along.

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Simone Pellegrini on Unsplash

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"a tough, uncompromising, or intimidating person."

The term is attributed to North America, dating back to 1809. But use remained fairly minimal throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

The term really took off at the beginning of the 21st century and continued a swift upward trajectory until the present.

Even though the widespread use of the term is relatively recent, the attitude and attributes of a bad@ss goes back to the beginning of human existence.

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Phil Mosley on Unsplash

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Among the agencies moved to Homeland Security were Customs and Border Protection, Federal Emergency Management Agency, United States Secret Service and the United States Coast Guard.

Some agencies were created to address new security measures then placed under Homeland Security. Among the new agencies created post 9/11 was the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

TSA was created on November 19, 2001, to "improve airport security procedures and consolidate air travel security under a dedicated federal administrative law enforcement agency." TSA handles security for transportation systems within and connecting to the United States.

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