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30 Medical Professionals Share Horror Stories Of Patients Ignoring Their Advice
Interview With Expert
For the most part, being friends with a professional like a doctor or lawyer is pretty beneficial. You get access to a trained and educated brain to help you with whatever questions you might have. But there are some folks out there who think that, ultimately, they know best.
Someone asked “Medical professionals, what was a time where a patient ignored you and almost died because of it?” and people shared their most harrowing stories. We also got in touch with Dr. Joe, M.D to learn more. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and if you have a similar tale, write it in the comments section below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Had a repeat patient (not quite frequent flyer status) as a medic that would always call for a severe allergic reaction to shellfish every other month or so. She had always had the allergy and knew her reactions were getting worse. After a year (6 or 7 calls) of this silliness, my crew and I stayed in the hospital ER with her and talked at length about the situation since she'd always stay mum about how it kept happening.
She told us she comes from a patriarchal culture and her father made this amazing seafood soup. If she didn't eat it and "force her body not to reject his gift to the family" she would lose her car, phone, or whatever punishment her father deemed necessary. We pleaded with her to do whatever it took to show him it was deadly and carry her Epi-Pens with her.
Fast forward a few years when I altered course into nursing and joined that ER. Saw a familiar bloated face. Turns out she had gone off to college in another state and hadn't been home for awhile, but had visited her folks for a holiday. Of course she had the soup and despite hitting herself with the Epi-Pen when her throat started tightening, the reaction continued. Her mom, who I had never seen before, told me she tried to eat it fast and rushed to the bathroom where she was found on the floor.
Medics couldn't tube her in the field so tried medical management until they could drive her to our ER. Doc performed a tracheotomy at the bedside and she went to the ICU. Took a week for her to recover and I was told by the ICU nurses that her father "finally got it" that her allergy was a real medical condition.
Enuya 1 year ago (edited)
Poor child... I'm glad that at least she was able to move out, so she doesn't have to contact this man daily.
BROmanicus85 1 year ago
I never liked dairy products (not allergic or anything, just "puke if I eat" dislike), but my dad always thought I was just picky while I was a child. He forced me to eat a milk product one day, and I did... up until the 2nd cup when I started vomiting and he then realized I wasn't just messing around. He stopped after that! Not as severe as OP's story but it will always stay with me and I remind him of that constantly!
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Zedrapazia 1 year ago
What a fücking deadbeat waste of a father. I hope she cut him off down the line for trying to kill her with his pride
Roan The Demon Kitty 1 year ago
father should be in prison, this is abuse and his ignorance could have killed his daughter ffs
Anonymouse 1 year ago
I knew a college student who had a sudden anaphylactic reaction to a food. She ended up alive but in a persistent vegetative state- not responsive to any external stimuli but would randomly move and groan. That could well have happened to this person in the story here. The father is a real jerk.
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L Mullen 1 year ago (edited)
One year I had intestinal parasites from food while overseas, I'm in the U.S. The doctor gave me some medicine to kill them and get rid of them. Afterwards I was told to eat a bland diet for a while. Well, me being me, I was in the mood for a spicey Italian sub with extra jalapenos. I felt the burning all along my intestines. When the doctors tell you to eat a bland diet while your body recovers, they mean a BLAND diet.
Pill Nathan Whitely 1 year ago
"If you love me you will eat this poison." What the hell's wrong with the world? Oh, right... the patriarchy.
Danish Susanne 1 year ago
And if you loved me you would not try to kill me.
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Rick Seiden 1 year ago
I wonder if he "finally got it" when he was handcuffed and taken away by the police.
RELATED:
#2
Not necessarily the patient, but the caretakers at the facility where the patient was living. I used to visit different board and lodge facilities for adults with mental illnesses and meet with clients to discuss their mental health, help them set up job interviews, therapy sessions, and help them set up their medications for the week if they were unable to do it themselves. Most of these facilities were places for people who had left the hospital and were deemed independent and stable enough to have the freedom to come and go as they pleased in a shared living situation, much like a dorm. Despite having a place to stay and food provided, they were usually pretty poorly supervised by the mental health staff workers there. I often hated these places because, while they were ideal for some people who were truly getting back on their feet and thrived off being able to live a semi normal independent life, they were way too lax for many of the sicker more isolating patients who were not at all well and slipping under the radar. Some of this included them not taking their medication as directed, which was one of the requirements for keeping their housing, but unfortunately it was not strictly enforced.
There was one man who had paranoid schizophrenia who was extremely quiet and kept to himself. I had met with him a few times and he seemed to be going downhill in his appearance and general mood. I spoke with his doctor and urged the facility staff to closely monitor him and his medication intake, as I saw in his logs that he often skipped coming in to get his medication at all. I was told that they were going to be sitting down with him to remind him of his living agreement and that he had 30 days before losing his housing if he wasn’t med compliant. I was also told that his psychiatrist was aware and they may be sending him back to the hospital that week.
Apparently this never happened and he went out into the community and acquired a knife and used it to slice up his roommate while his roommate slept. He carved him from mouth to ear and stabbed him in the stomach several times. The man survived the attack but the man who had gone off his medication claimed he was being poisoned by his roommate through the window AC unit. For anyone with a violent incident like that on their medical report, it is incredibly unlikely he will ever be able to find a better rehabilitation house ever again that will accept him. The system basically screwed over two people that day, as the man who was hurt was already there for PTSD, and as you can imagine, it not only scarred him physically for life but exacerbated his illness with more trauma.
Dainty72 1 year ago
This should have been near or at the top of this post. Awful!!! Those with this diagnosis need serious help and need to be closely monitored! They act on what is being told to them in their head. When those who have this condition take their medication, they can live a normal life, but you can't take your eye off the ball! Constant monitoring is vital!!!
Moosy Girl 1 year ago
We lived next door to a paranoid schizophrenic. She was the sweetest lady when she was on her meds but she would always stop taking them after a while because she felt better. The most horrible thing for her was that she remembered all the horrible things she did while off the meds and was ashamed to face people when she was on them.
Robert Beveridge 1 year ago
While I understand the reasons behind Reagan closing long-term mental hospitals (if you've never seen Titicut Follies, do so as soon as you are able), (a) the reasoning behind it is long over and we need to get back to long-term inpatient mental health facilities stat, and (b) the #1 piece of fallout that we've been dealing with because of it for forty years is lack of med compliance in the severely ill because many of them mentally can't do it even when they're on the meds. This is something we need to address immediately, and one on which I would bet my existence we will not see even the beginnings of motions on in my lifetime.
Laura Parker 1 year ago (edited)
Nope. There are too many loopy liberals who put civil rights of the minority above the health and safety of everyone else!
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Louisa Spoke 1 year ago
My partners brother kept on threatening his mother so we all moved into a house to live with them to protect her. Because the brother was so unwell I wished he could have gone to a safe place like an old fashioned asylum. He needed someone to give him his medication and keep him safe as well as everyone else. It was exceedingly stressful.
Livingwithcfs 1 year ago
I wonder if trlhe facility can be sanctioned. They neglected their duty of care that put both staff and patients in very real danger
#3
When I was in medical school had a gentleman in his late 60’s come in for chest pain, found to have a large heart attack (very impressive STEMI in LAD by ekg). Refused emergent cardiac catheterization (go through the arteries and put a stent to open up the vessel of the heart) so he could bring his car home and planned on taking an ambulance back to the hospital. He was in the parking ramp and it cost $20/day to park.
Came back by ambulance in full arrest (no pulse) and died. Doc had to call his son and explain what happened, he was like “yah that sounds like dad, he’s always been cheap”.
Deborah B 1 year ago
If this was America, wouldn't the ambulance ride cost more than the parking?
quentariel 1 year ago
Every single incident and every single reddit user isn't from America, just saying. I don't know where this story is from, but sometimes I feel like the existence of other continents and countries is totally forgotten.
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Trillian 1 year ago
Why did he not call someone to move the car for him. How would they even let him go and drive in that condition???
Manana Man 1 year ago
Been through this scenario and the last thing on my mind was my car.
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Ouss Ben Aziza 1 year ago
Why do i find this hilarious? The sons reaction like... YEP that is dad alright. Bro he is dead!
Vinnie 1 year ago (edited)
Sometimes one has to give up and detach emotionally from folks. This one was willing to literally die to save money. "Cremation on the BBQ and ashes in a coffee can. It's what Dad would have wanted."
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Bettye McKee 1 year ago
He was willing to take the ambulance back to the hospital, so I'm assuming his insurance would have covered the ambulance ride. But not the parking fee.
ConstantlyJon 1 year ago
My FIL got bit by a rabid raccoon and refused to get treatment until they found someone that would give him treatment on the cheap. Dude almost died from something he knew he would die from instead of pay a little extra money.
Farnzy 1 year ago (edited)
My mom just had this procedure done in the same artery. Months worth of tests that showed her heart was fine but she was still having severe pain. Finally got an angiography that turned into a stent in the LAD. So glad she's doing better, and no... we haven't looked at the bill yet. It's the US...but I still have my mom, so it's a win for me.
Mabelbabel 1 year ago
STEMI is a myocardial infarct ("heart attack"). It stands for ST elevation myocardial infarct-the ST bit refers to the ECG tracing. The ECG (or EKG) is a tracing of your heart beat, its full name is electrocardiogram. LAD is left anterior descending-it's one of the main arteries supplying the heart muscle. So this person had a heart attack because of a blockage in one of his coronary arteries and the heart attack was diagnosed by the ECG trace.
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Jude Laskowski 1 year ago
I used to work in an ER and we had several patients who were extremely ill, but refused admission because they had their dog in their car. I always took the dogs home with me (with the patient's permission) and took care of them until "mom" or "dad" was able to come home. I never told one man that his dog ate my door.
Bored Panda got in touch with board certified emergency physician Joe Whittington, MD and he was kind enough to share some thoughts on this question. Firstly, we were curious to hear his thoughts on why some folks insist on ignoring medical professionals.
“There are several reasons why some people feel they know better than a doctor. The rise of the internet and easy access to medical information can lead people to believe they have enough knowledge to make informed decisions without professional input. This phenomenon, sometimes called "Dr. Google," can give a false sense of understanding.”
#4
Not a professional but a patient who got scared by their doctor. I had my 2nd c-section, my surgeon had to leave before I could be discharged so the other surgeon have me my discharge orders. He'd just come back from having to re-sew a woman's abdomine back together because she decided to stand up and pick up her 5 year old the day she left the hospital. Well he let me know under no uncertain terms that I had better not pick up anything over 8lbs or stand up while holding anything or we'd have words. Man he was scary but he'd also had to push this women's guts back in and see her terrified child covered in his mom's blood. So anyway I did not pick up anything heavier then my child for two weeks until they said I could. He also told me husband all about not having sex and he shouldn't even talk to me about it for 3 months.
Con O Cuinn 1 year ago
It's probably better for doctors to be extremely blunt in cases like this. It might seem rude but it gets the point across.
Traveling Lady Railfan 1 year ago
Agreed. I would prefer a professional (medical or otherwise) to be extremely clear to.the point of bluntness, rather than using softer language / euphemisms / etc. Be as clear as you are able to. When we are stressed we don't always hear / understand you properly. Be super clear and blunt
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Sergio Bicerra 1 year ago
"No talking, after 3 months you may start sexting, just two word sentences. Come in month 4 and may let you kiss her forehead."
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Lyoness 1 year ago
I wish I'd had this to show my family after my C. I had to get the Dr to explain that no, I couldn't be fully responsible for our toddler three days after I got home, and yes, it does take that long to heal. What's so hard to understand? They cut through every layer of your abdomen. It's major surgery. Done.
DiscoMamaNea 1 year ago
This is a Doc that actually is there and cares for and about their patients NOT customers and in this country… my country… our country the USofA medical offices hospitals etc is ran by business ethics NOT medical ethics and unfortunately this doc in this story are few and far between thanks to the corporate mindset in the medical industry Just a personal and well known observation here and I’m in MN idk I just have huge respect for those who HAVE saved my life in these instances and yea they should all be paid very well but also be able to make decisions medically that don’t need a patient determining their choice of treatment options like a damn menu from a restaurant… it sucks for all of us no matter rich or poor it’s literally al a carte and AGAIN these docs like above should NOT have to revolve the care of a patient around a corporate conference table
Al Padilla 1 year ago
Yes, now it's a doc saying, "We can only deal with one problem per visit. You'd better start talking since you only have 4 minutes left."
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And the OP did right most definitely listening and I know it’s hard todo that I’m not innocent of not listening to my doc here and there but you know when your doc cares and doesn’t also why it’s not easy for many to even go to doc including myself no TRUST of the medical industry only a hope and wish your care providers don’t push you through a revolving moneymaking door and actually wanna see you alive they didn’t go to school for nothing Sorry Rant over BUT ALSO just my opinions and take or leave them they are mine not forced to be yours if you don’t agree k
Captaindolly_767 1 year ago
I had sepsis and appendicitis and peritonitis. My appendix actually ruptured and I had an abscess that was eroding into my sigmoid colon. I had no abdominal pain at all. I had full blown pneumonia though. I had a fever and mild nausea but that was it. When we found out I had appendicitis we were shocked. I spent two weeks in the hospital.
#5
We had a college student come into the ER and had a wonderful case of appendicitis. He needed to get surgery ASAP as surgery is way easier and safer if done before it ruptures. He called his parents to let them know and they told him to refuse because he had a test upcoming in the week and they didn't want him to miss it. He left the ER Against Medical Advice while we were all telling him that if your appendicitis gets worse and ruptures it can definitely lead to death. The kid luckily comes back about 10 hours later after it ruptured, he gets the emergency surgery and the amount of time he got to spend in the hospital probably doubled.
BROmanicus85 1 year ago
They just have been charged with child neglect or something...
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Enuya 1 year ago
Doesn't appendicitis hurt like hell and then some more? How was he supposed to write his test if he'd be curled into a ball on the bed and eating painkillers like candies?
Nadine Debard 1 year ago (edited)
I had an appendicitis with absolutely no pain, it took a month to realize that (3 small gastro-enteritis), the 4th gastro enteritis was weird, because it lasted 8 days. Even with blood tests and ultrasound the surgeon wasn't sure. He wanted to perform surgery. It was nearly ruptured, all necrosed and infected. I could have died. Oh and I went to uni to finish my registration and choose my disciplines before that.
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PFD 1 year ago
I guess "a wonderful case of appendicitis" is the new way of saying "a cute appendicitis"
cerinamroth 1 year ago
My parents only believed me that I had severe abdominal pain after my appendix ruptured. I had had it for nearly a year. I got sepsis and nearly died. Thanks, fam.
StrangeOne 1 year ago
School may be important, but nothing comes between you and your urgent health needs.
Glen Ellyn 1 year ago
Years ago, I experienced severe abdominal pain late one evening. Somehow, I knew the pain was not just cramps. Called my dad and asked him to take me to the ER. (My then-husband stayed home with our young son.) I'm glad I did because my appendix was about to burst according to the doctor. Was in the hospital for only about three days, thank goodness.
Robin DJW 1 year ago
A ruptured appendix has a scary high mortality rate. Research results differ, but I found rates from 4.5% to 12%.
#6
Animal hospital professional, at least once a week we have to re suture up a spay because the owners don’t want to keep the cone on their dog/cat and let them tear up their surgical site. Their organs are right there!!! Keep the damn cone on!!! I don’t care how “sad” Luna is with it on. Then they yell at me because it costs money to sedate and re suture an animal.
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 1 year ago
We got a body suit for our dog when she was spayed. That worked well. I can't imagine she'd have kept a cone on very long.
CommanderDucky-He/Him 1 year ago
My dog figured out how to get her done off pretty quickly, we couldn't keep it on her so we just kept an eye on her and she never licked or anything luckily. She was a pretty chill dog, I guess she just didn't like the cone lol
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Upstaged75 1 year ago
After my cat had surgery to remove a tumor on her tail I kept the cone on until it seemed like she wasn't going to bother it. Then when I took it off I watched her for an entire day and she never touched it. But the second I left the house the little stinker chewed herself bloody and ended up back at the vet. They couldn't sew it up so I had to take her back there every 3 days for bandaging. It was an expensive lesson for me!
Con O Cuinn 1 year ago
Cones don't always work. My dog's neck is the same width as her head. She can get her collar off if she wants to. The vet gave us the cone but told us it wouldn't work and we had to be extra vigilant.
Disgruntled Pelican 1 year ago
Our dog was the same way. If he wasn't wiggling out of it, he was chewing the ends up out of spite. We ended up using one of those blow up cones and that worked MUCH better.
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Auntriarch 1 year ago
Our first dog walked straight up the stairs and turned round and round on the landing. He just wouldn't stay downstairs or lie down. Fearing a fall, we removed the cone and we just watched him like a hawk till he healed. Luckily I was in a position to take him into the office, and when I went to the loo, the others would watch him
Jaya 1 year ago
If you care more about something being an uncomfortable situation for an animal than you care about doing what's necessary for it's health, you are not ready to take care of an animal. It happens so often, like pet owners who overfeed their pet or give it food that's really unhealthy for that species, because "he looks so sad when I eat something and he doesn't get a bite".
Yettichild 1 year ago
My cat had to have a cone three separate times. Once for spaying and an eye removal and twice more for complications with the eye removal. I kept that cone on as instructed. She got out of it a couple times, but I got it right back on her until I finally got it tight enough to not come off. Follow the medical advise. Your pet might freak out at first, but they will calm down.
T'Mar of Vulcan 1 year ago
Our cat got so depressed with the cone on that we took it off and put a sock on his bandage instead (he'd cut himself jumping off something) as the vet suggested. Well, poor baby was still depressed that he couldn't get at the injury but at least he was able to go outside and stare at birds!
Vinnie 1 year ago
Hence my friend and her circle joking about her dog when he had one. She's actually great to her dog and he doesn't understand "Nice lampshade. Too bad about the lightbulb not working." How much shame could he possibly have after sniffing butts (and not the ones from cigarettes)?
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MaireC 1 year ago
My dog as a puppy had, per the vet afterwards, a giraffe neck and an elastic spine. She managed to work out how to hoik the edge of the cone up past the incision site and lick all the way up the stitches, but only when I wasn't looking at her. Mini Schnauzer ended up with a huge stitch abscess and wearing German Shepherd sized cone.
PeepPeep the duck 1 year ago
My cat preferred the soft cone that looked like a little lighthouse keeper costume when flipped back ❤️
“Additionally, personal experiences, anecdotes from friends or family, and a general mistrust of the medical profession can contribute to this mindset. Some individuals might also have had negative experiences with healthcare providers in the past, leading to skepticism about medical advice.”
#7
I am a nurse and I had a very polite and lovely patient trying to remove all manner of chest tubes and IVs after a motorcycle accident. He was obviously delirious from the pain meds and the head injury but very nice still. I left him in the care of my coworker for my lunch, ten mins into my lunch break I see him stagger past the break room door like something out of the Walking Dead, trailing blood everywhere, only to collapse out cold a couple of seconds later. Said he needed the bathroom!! Idk how the f**k he pulled his own chest tubes out. Removing them always makes me cringe let alone doing it to himself!!! He was put back to bed, this time in the ICU, and got some more sedation and even tho him ripping it all out set him back a couple of weeks he still discharged and came to say hi and thanks on the way out. The happiest delirious patient I ever had. What a bloody trooper. Haha.
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 1 year ago
I would never (knowingly) pull out chest tubes or IV tubes, but after my hysterectomy, I pulled out the breathing tube the second I regained consciousness. I have a horrendous choke reflex, and there was no way I could tolerate it awake.
Debby Keir 1 year ago
The anaesthetic team know when someone is waking up. How? They pull out their breathing tubes - standard practice for patient to attempt/manage to extubate themselves.
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Alexandra 1 year ago
My husband did something similar. He was admitted at the ER with what turned out to be diabetic ketoacydosis. His organs started to fail and I was told to 'prepare myself'. He was rushed to another hospital and they sedated him. Not enough, because he started pulling out all the IV's and tubes. Then they put him into a mild coma. Afterwards, my husband told me he thought they were going to harvest his organs because he hear them talking about his liver, kidneys and heart.
Traveling Lady Railfan 1 year ago
Hmm. I don't know regulations and procedures but I would think it would be a good practice if you had a sedated / delirious / brain damaged individual who is hooked up to all these tubes and IVs, but is mobile enough to pull them out especially if they've shown that they have a desire to do so, it might be a smart idea to restrain their hands. Maybe you're not allowed to ??
Becca not Becky 1 year ago (edited)
Every place I've worked would have allowed them in this circumstance, but you wouldn't believe how ridiculous some places are when it comes to restraint policies
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Griffy 1 year ago
My mom, shortly before going into hospice and passing away, was in a room next to a guy who had to have had mental difficulties. Several times he pulled out his fully inflated catheter. The day my mom was released to hospice, my dad and I are standing around. He comes up and asks us which way is out. I directed him to the nurses station.
Vix Spiderthrust 1 year ago
I was in a ward once where a patient was screaming for help non-stop. All the nurses ignored him. I asked the receptionist what was up and they said "Oh, that's just Mr Thingytits, he's always trying to pull his catheter out with his bare hands".
MargyB 1 year ago
Aargh, so much wrong with the stock pic. Shoes not closed in, mask around neck, gloves on. Not in my hospital
Regina Holt 1 year ago
"stock pic" is exactly that. It is some stock picture that BP attaches to each post that has no connection to the post. The pic is just pulled out of a desk drawer, and slapped on.
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Kristen Woehlke 7 months ago
My dad was in the hospital, he was going septic from renal failure and not going to dialysis. He did this. He was quite delirious. I was a correctional officer and went to see him. He was strapped to the bed. The nurse was coming to explain to me, but my 5'5" self grabbed him and pinned him against the wall and lifted him about a foot off the floor. Mom had to calm me down so everything could be explained by a shaky, frightened nurse. I went back and formally apologized. I mean... It was my dad...
Al Padilla 1 year ago
Dementia scale: Removes own urinary catheter, 1 point. Removes own urinary catheter with 10 cc bulb inflated, 2 points. Removes own urinary catheter with 20 cc bulb inflated, 3 points.
#8
We had a mom in the NICU who would constantly kiss her premature baby on the mouth. Several nurses educated her around why that’s not safe for the baby, and thankfully documented their teachings. This was during cold and flu season, and became even more concerning when the mother was coming in with cold-like symptoms (coughing, sneezing and obvious congestion). She still continued to kiss the baby right on the mouth. The baby was almost ready to go home by this time, but got extremely sick. The baby ended up on a ventilator and had quite the extended stay with many, many close calls.
Enuya 1 year ago
In today's episode of: "There should be some tests before you're allowed to be a parent". (Yeah, yeah, I know... but it still baffles me that everyone is allowed to have a child, even when it is obvious that the poor kid is going to suffer.)
StrangeOne 1 year ago
People are generally stupid. Who would raise all the kids apprehended?
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Pamela24 1 year ago
Gosh, babies have so many other kissable spots! Have you seen their little feet?
Trillian 1 year ago
And that spot on their forehead where the hairline starts and all the baby smell accumulates?
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Luis Hernandez Dauajare 1 year ago (edited)
There are definitely some people that are not prepared to be parents. By father is a pediatrician, retired now. He told me of a baby who passed away from a septic shock. Turns out the child was moving from breastfeeding to bottle, and the mother was mixing chocolate and honey with the milk "to make it taste better", even though the mother was given very especific guidelines of which foods -like honey- are toxic to infants. She later wanted to sue the hospital. Lost.
Beth Wheeler 1 year ago
My husband's family kissed little kids on the mouth, I never let them do it with mine. It's just wrong on so many levels.
somnomania (she/her, queer) 1 year ago
i just read recently about a girl who died because someone with a cold sore had kissed her on the mouth when she was a baby, and she turned out to have an immune deficiency, so the contact ended up killing her. don't do this! even if you DON'T have a cold sore, don't do this!
Little My 1 year ago
Playing devils advocate but women are full of oxytocin at birth, are love struck with their little one normally. It may be they’re all over the place with hormones and also maybe not thinking straight or intelligence is questioned, if this was a huge concern a contract or meeting agreement should have been drawn up and then sanctions implemented if not adhered to. The mother may not be thinking straight but the baby is the priority.
#9
Didn't die, but did lose an eye as a result. Young kid (20) with bad diabetic retinopathy from uncontrolled DM type 1, had eye surgery to remove blood and scar tissue from inside the eye. We told him to take it easy for a few weeks. He went to six flags. Rollercoasters are bad. Retina completely detached, eye got soft and painful, had to be removed.
Gwyn 1 year ago
Well he didn't manage his diabetes in the first place so you can't say his disregard for safe recovery was a surprise.
Lene 1 year ago
According to my mom (type 1 diabetes since she was about 4yo) it's quite common that teenagers don't take their diabetes seriously and she says that she lost about 5 good friends to diabetes before she was 20yo. She also had some times where she cared very little for her diabetes and that is haunting her now: nerve damage in her feet and she is nearly blind in one eye and has started to get bleedings in the other. So I am honestly not very surprised to hear about a young diabetic who cares so little about his health.
keyboardtek 1 year ago
My dad had a detached retina. He was instructed to lay face down for two weeks with minimal movement while it healed. He was out driving around and drinking his beers while driving and detached it again within a week. Pretty much went blind in that eye because he did not follow the doctor's guidelines.
Jude Laskowski 1 year ago
My ophthalmologist diagnosed my retina problem many years ago, before I needed treatment. During one visit, he said "no rollercoasters, no bungy jumping, no sky diving, no falling." I paid attention and it was a good excuse to not have to go on carnival rides.
Luis Hernandez Dauajare 1 year ago
I loved pirate movies and books, and when I was a dumb preteen thought losing an eye in order to wear a patch would be very cool. Later gota condition that paralyzed the left side of my face and had to wear a patch for six months. It was awful. I cannot imagine losing a whole eye permanently...
Naturally, we wanted to hear if he had any similar experiences. “Absolutely. In my years of practice, I've seen many instances where patients disregarded medical advice with serious consequences. One example involved a patient with diabetes who chose to follow an alternative diet he found online instead of the recommended medical regimen. Despite repeated warnings, he ignored his prescribed insulin doses, leading to severe hyperglycemia and subsequent hospitalization with complications like diabetic ketoacidosis. Another case involved a young woman who ignored advice about the importance of regular Pap smears and later presented with advanced cervical cancer, which could have been caught earlier with routine screening.”
#10
My granda is the patient.
"Come straight back if you have any chest pain."
He didn't go back and this is what followed:
Blood clot travelled to his brain.
Three strokes.
Bleeding on the brain.
Two more minor strokes.
Paralysed left arm and right foot.
Broca's Aphasia.
He went from being a man nearing his 80's who was Old Skool. He worked as a school crossing guard, grew all of his own vegetables, fed the birds, built tables, biked six miles on the weekends, walked everywhere, and was still able to play darts despite his eyesight being that of a visually impaired gnat because he knew the board so well.
He went from that to living in a care home and unable to talk. Has he lost his stubborness? Nope. He won't do his rehabilitation and so even though he could get his speech back to a decent degree, he doesn't want to do the therapy and using communication cards humiliates him, so we're left trying to decipher random eyebrow movements so we can guess what he's trying to say.
One of these days, I swear on my own bloody eyelashes, that I'm going to shake him until his teeth rattle. Him and his brothers. They're all the bloody same. My uncle, granda's younger brother, didn't go to hospital at all and was found on his bedroom floor, whimpering.
He had flipping sepsis.
Connie Hirsch 1 year ago
I've noted with a number of older friends and relatives, that stubbornness can get you very far in life, but after a certain age, that same stubbornness can kill you.
Blue Bunny of Happiness 1 year ago
Can confirm that every single one of my patients over 90 was ridiculously stubborn. It’s definitely a trait that helps you live longer. The fact that I met them all on discharge from hospital may not be a coincidence….climbing ladders, cutting tall hedges and putting up wall paper are all things that I would advise against when you’re over 90.
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BROmanicus85 1 year ago
Where I live, there's a man that for the last 20 years or more has been living with a lump on his forehead. Obviously a tumor, but he never went to the doctor, even if it grew from the size of a walnut to an orange during these years......
Cindy Tucker 1 year ago
One has to be careful of tumors in the elderly. My Ex's 84 yo Grandma was diagnosed with a non-malignant brain tumor. Her doctor said, "She probably pass away soon of something else; no surgery is necessary." The family agreed. Nope. She went from being one of the sweetest people I've ever met to plain ole mean while living another twelve years!!! The tumor kept growing, pressed on her brain and changed her personality drastically. It was a very sad situation. I hope you or neighbor is okay.
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FloralDangerNoodle 1 year ago
Yup, my dad was mule-stubborn, and it killed him. Refused to bring his oxygen tank with him, depriving his brain, blah, blah, blah.
Bettye McKee 1 year ago
Men in general are terrible patients. No matter their condition, they want to appear strong and fierce.
Kimi Oliver 1 year ago
I’d tell him I was done with him, that he needed to show some humility in his situation and if he didn’t do more to improve his communication abilities he’s out of my life for good
Jude Laskowski 1 year ago
A friend of mine is a retired nurse who refuses to get a mammogram because she doesn't believe in getting chemo, and she thinks surgery will just spread the cancer. I don't even discuss it with her anymore.
#11
Overheard in the ER I volunteer at:
*heated argument*
Dr: Sir, I'm telling you do not touch the knife. You could risk cutting an artery.
*patient shouts and apparently pulls out the knife.*
Dr: Damn it! Angie, get more gauze!
*Some incoherent shouting. I saw security walk by too. Patient shouts.*
Dr: Why did you put it back in?!
That's right. He removed the knife, bled, and in the shouting match, re-stabbed himself with the knife in the same spot it came out of.
Zedrapazia 1 year ago
I'd also like to know why the guy in the picture here has a Swiss flag on him instead of a Red Cross.
Sweetie Dahling 1 year ago
I thought the Red Cross symbol was protected, which is why they often use the Swiss flag version in movies and tv as well
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DiscoMamaNea 1 year ago
Well at least through the probably well and hopefully medicated person they kinda listened 🤷🏼♀️ But yea knife or object that’ somehow ended up stuck in you or someone else DO NOT REMOVE. It is what’s keeeping you from bleeding to death till a Dr can remove it with extra blood to replace yours then and there so serious not everyone knows that and I’m assuming they were probably not in a good mind state at that point so again at least they tried to follow the docs orders lolbvs
Anxious&Bored Bear 1 year ago (edited)
I probably should not have laughed so hard at this one. But I read the comments, too.
Fellfromthemoon 1 year ago
It is a novel by P. Howard (Jenő Rejtő, paraphrased). Sir, please, don't pull the knife out of my back, otherwise I'll bleed to death. (In short, 'Sir' needs his knife back, but agrees to put in a larger one, if I remember the story correctly.)
#12
Had a throat cancer patient, we offered him surgery to remove the tumor (it was a fairly conservative surgery) he left because he didn't want a mutilating surgery and his daughter in law had been studying magnet therapy and "she was quite good with it" (his words) he came back a year later, and was out of reach from any treatment, his cancer was so advanced that there was nothing we could do for him.
Angela B 1 year ago
This. This pi!@es me off no end! Now I can understand some conjunction therapies, cultural medicines, alternative therapies. HOWEVER, people die due to sh^@ like this.
Louby Of Morrowind 1 year ago
Natural selection at its best if people are not smart enough to listen to professionals.
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michael Chock 1 year ago
You need to give people like this a reason to go through surgery that is just as full of BS as they are. "Sorry, your tumor is negatively polarized so magnet therapy wil just make it grow"
Luis Hernandez Dauajare 1 year ago
F***k those so called "remedies" and all who promote them...It is depressing how many people die because of them...
Al Padilla 1 year ago
But worse than some dumb guy's dumber daughter is when a doc with an MD does "alternative" or "functional" medicine. People who fall for or do quackery are either ignorant or evil. Not too many mentally-impaired MD's (or DO's), so that leaves.... Several years ago, a colleague who had "gone to the dark side" told me, in his own defense, "I know it's B.S., but sometimes I can get them to go for real treatment." Yeah, after the wallet is empty.
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Vix Spiderthrust 1 year ago
This is why, here in the UK, it is illegal to advertise "complementary medicine" as an alternative to the real thing. You have to sell your snake oil as an adjuvant therapy.
Jayeff Vee 1 year ago
Magnets only work if you also wear a pyramid on your head. Every body knows that...
MacintoshID 1 year ago
Magnet therapy? He was trusting his DIL who was playing around with some sort of alternative therapy over treatment?!? Sounds like someone I knew quite well who had stage 1 bladder cancer that was progressing quickly, and decided he was too young to be wearing a "bag" . That decision cost him his life only 5 months later. He almost died a couple months earlier from a septic infection that put him in the ICU for two weeks. He kept telling me that it would be too embarrassing to have to deal with a catheter and bag for the rest of this life. Those decisions cost him his life and the many memories he would have made with his wife and two boys.
We also wanted to know what most people get wrong about being a doctor. “Several misconceptions about the medical profession are prevalent. One common belief is that doctors are infallible and should have all the answers, which is unrealistic given the complexity and evolving nature of medicine. Another misconception is that doctors are solely motivated by profit, which undermines the dedication and care most healthcare professionals have for their patients. Additionally, there is a belief that medical interventions are always necessary, leading some to seek unnecessary treatments or tests. Lastly, some people think that medical advice can be one-size-fits-all, not recognizing that individual patient circumstances often require tailored approaches.”
#13
I was assistant manager of a group home. We had a resident who had epilepsy and was also very reclusive. He would get agitated if we came in his room or even knocked on the door. However, policy said he had to be checked on every 30 minutes because of his seizure risk. That wasn't being done so I brought this up to the manager.
She said she was aware but it was okay to bend the rules because he would get really upset when we checked in on him. I really wasn't comfortable with her answer but I was young and assumed she knew better than me. When I was on duty I checked on him every 30 minutes and he would yell at me, but I didn't let it bother me.
About six months later, after I had been reassigned to another group home, he had a seizure alone in his room and was found dead. A day later.
Now I'm older and a little smarter. When I find a problem like this I stick with it a don't let people talk me out of it. Not again. Rest in peace, D. Gone but not forgotten.
Deborah B 1 year ago
30 min check-ins would annoy the heck out of most people. Why didn't they use text messages or a button system? (eg alarm goes every 30min, resident pushes a button to cancel, or it rings at the nurse's station)
Bored something 1 year ago
Because that means the patient can never sleep more than 30 minutes. If they physically go peek in his room they don't need to wake him
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Laura Whitaker 1 year ago
I was in the hospital recently my room had a window in the corner where the nurses could look in without opening my door and waking me up. Appreciated because I was not sleeping much.
#14
Patient was supposed to have starved for eight hours for her morning scheduled breast surgery. During the procedure she regurgitated what can only be described as as a full partially digested English breakfast, with identifiable sausages, egg, beans and possibly black pudding, up into her unprotected airway and attempted to inhale the lot.
Managed to prevent the majority of it going down, but she needed HDU care for a day or so for her lungs to recover from the stomach acid.
Annabelle 1 year ago
At least the patient put herself in that position. The same thing happened to a five year old, because his parents fed him and lied about it to us. “He asked me if he could have a sandwich “.
Magenta Blu 1 year ago
For some reason doctors and nurses NEVER explain why fasting before surgery is important.
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Lord of the laserprinter. 1 year ago (edited)
Heavy, heavy sleep apnoea here. Before my cpap (set to industrial leafblower) I would constantly, every night throw up in a semi conscious state and breath it in. I had to live with acid seared lungs for months before they regenerated. It is… „unpleasant!“
Remi (He/Him) 1 year ago
Not as severe, but same really. The times I had to wake up to cough stomach liquids out of my airways before cpap were just about every other night. Of course as I already had ended in hospital for acid burned esophagus I was on anti acids so I got only the case of mild pneumonia lung from time to time.
Load More Replies... Upstaged75 1 year ago
Anyone remember Jahi McMath? The girl whose family refused to believe she was brain dead? The whole thing started because they decided to ignore doctor's orders and feed her right after surgery. Then they fought over her mostly dead body claiming that she would come back to life. Poor child. :(
CF 1 year ago
I remember her. Her body did finally give out too, but I think it carried on for years. I had not heard that it happened because of regurg/aspiration though. Not surprised in the least that this particular family ignored doctor's orders.
Load More Replies... Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 1 year ago
Before a stress test, I was supposed to fast. It was fried chicken day. We only got fried chicken once a month, and sometimes they'd skip it. Luckily, the stress test didn't cause me to lose my lunch.
Robert Trebor 1 year ago
Or the ones who sneak food into the hospital because Jimmy looks so sad before the surgery.
Bettye McKee 1 year ago
We call it fasting, but it amazes me how many people ignore this requirement.
Jude Laskowski 1 year ago
I have to see a retina specialist every four weeks for injections. One day, they had to schedule me for an appointment later in the day because my doc had surgery in the morning. No problem. When I arrived, he said the surgery was cancelled because the patient didn't fast as directed. Simple instructions.
#15
Obligatory not a doctor but: I had a bite but I didn’t see what bit me. Thought it was a hornet sting, but it kept spreading and it itched and hurt and was really hot to the touch. I was in college and on my mom’s insurance and I called her to say I thought I needed to go to a doctor. She told me “suck it up, it’s a bee sting”. I finally went anyway aaaaaaaand it was infected, it was spreading to my lymphatic system, and it was almost certainly a black widow.
Connie Hirsch 1 year ago
Black widow bites are notable in that they have a unique symptom -- the skin around the bite will sweat profusely, since the venom triggers the sweat glands as it spreads. So that's one way to tell it from a bee sting.
Erica Ventura 1 year ago
That's very interesting and I'm glad I learned that today. Definitely black widows where I live, in fact there's one who's laid her egg sac in the underside lid of my compost bin. So I'm not going to be composting for quite some time!
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Catherine Burgin 1 year ago
We went on a car trip and I had the window open. Something flew in a bit me on my eyebrow line. Nothing painful. I went to the doctor for something unrelated a few days later. I asked him about the bite. He had a look at the bite and said can you walk across to the hospital. Admitted within an hour, four days in hospital and about six rounds of IV antibiotics. The most annoying thing is I still dont know what bit me.
Suutashi 1 year ago
Weird, the only thing that comes to mind is a brown recluse, but I'm at a loss as to how it could have bitten you.
Load More Replies... Cat servant 1 year ago
Spiders do not wash their fangs before biting. Even spiders that do not produce poison that affect humans will get infected. Been there done that got the small abcess.
Lyoness 1 year ago
Tip: If you have a bite where redness is spreading out from it, outline it with pen every few hours. My partner did this with a spider bite and the docs used it to help ID the meds he needed. Said it was a good idea too because by the time he agreed to see a Dr there were red lines spreading from it and he was on the way to sepsis.
Steve Hall 1 year ago
When any type of wound becomes hot to the touch, seek medical care, it's infected.
Xenia Harley 1 year ago
What is with these parents who are putting their children's lives in danger?
somnomania (she/her, queer) 1 year ago
did you comment this on the wrong thing? the doctor was not an issue in this one, it was the mother at fault.
Load More Replies...“I would add that trust and communication are crucial in the doctor-patient relationship. Building a foundation of trust allows patients to feel more comfortable sharing their concerns and following medical advice. Doctors should also strive to communicate clearly and empathetically, helping patients understand their conditions and the reasoning behind their treatment plans. Additionally, it's important for patients to feel empowered to ask questions and engage in their healthcare decisions actively. Educating the public about these aspects can help bridge gaps and improve health outcomes.”
#16
I had the snip and my doctor told me to take a week off, wear tight fitting underpants and not lift anything heavier than a cup of tea. I did exactly that and had no problems. My best mate thought that was all nonsense and went back to fitting kitchens the day after his vasectomy. And the day after that he was in hospital with a testicle the size of a coconut.
Tabitha 1 year ago
Pair, not bunch. If you have more than two, then you need to either get checked out (partially resorbed twin maybe?), or do a DNA test because you’re obviously at least half alien.
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DC 1 year ago
One time, when accompanying a then-friend to the ER (a drunk dude had screamed some random, mindless garbage and came chasing us, hitting him while passing us, which teared open the skin under his eyebrow), a dude came walking in with his pants down and his balls swollen to the size of a handball (the ball you play hand-ball with ... obviously...), completely purple, and whenever they moved or anything happened to touch them, he'd make that noise ... a swallowed crying or so ... one of the guys he came with was eager to tell us the story behind it: they were all drunk, and jumped over some poles that are mounted so people won't park their cars there, during the jump supporting themselves by hands, and he, somehow, missed to grab the pole's top, so he basically threw his poor balls onto the pole at full speed. Ouch!
AutumnGirl 1 year ago
This is funny because here in Chile, the slang word for "testicle" is "coco" (coconut).
Geoffrey Scott 1 year ago
Wife went through the pain of child birth, so I decided to get cut rather than her getting a tubal. Played it up pretty good, she was very attentive. Welp, went back to check for swimmies, doctor said " I must have removed scar tissue, you'll have to do it again" (all the hydraulics worked fine). He came at me with that needle again...subconscious said "nope,nope,nope" Doc says "relax" ...yeah, RIGHT! Ended up putting me under the second time. Never got a bill (US).
Vicki Perizzolo 1 year ago
A coworker did that years ago. He wasn't happy with the result...go figure
#17
Patient came to see me having a stroke due to a blocked brain artery. I’d activated the Code Stroke team - everyone was ready in the theatre to get the clot out of her artery: nurses, anaesthetist, technician - but she (42) insisted on updating her Facebook status and “checking in” before allowing me to treat her. Wasted 3-5 minutes and 6-10 million brain cells (if she had that many to start with).
Diana Wilcox 1 year ago
This is giving me MLM vibes. The things those poor brainwashed reps prioritize "promoting their ✨️business✨️" over is truly defies all logic. Just a hunch in this case, but I have heard so many stories.
Robert Beveridge 1 year ago
"I'm having a stroke, so if you were thinking about picking up some of that excess stock I have, now's the time! Hospital stays aren't cheap, ya know!"
Load More Replies... Jan Moore 1 year ago
I (RN) had a patient transferred to our hospital around midnight for possible meningitis. The MD wanted to do a spinal and the patient didn't want it. Me and another nurse spent almost an hour convincing him to do it and then the MD decided it could wait. The next night the patient coded and died, I spent about 20 minutes giving him mouth-to-mouth, this was before they had all the nice equipment. I ended up having to get Rocphin, an antibiotic that is so painful they mix it with Lidocaine, in each cheek. Hurt for a week to sit.
Steve Hall 1 year ago
Nope, they would have simply administered d***s through the IV and she would not have even known it until she woke up.
Al Padilla 1 year ago
Not any more. These days, sedating an unwilling patient in order to perform even life-saving treatment is highly illegal. Back in the mid-70's however, when I was in training, a guy came into the ER for the 2nd time that day. First time was for a superficial stab wound easily sutured. The second was for an abdominal gunshot wound. (It wasn't called the "knife & gun club" for nothing.) Re refused to have the necessary surgery. The attending handed him a form on a clipboard, "Here, then sign this first." Thinking it was an AMA (Against Medical Advice) form, he signed. Then got some IV sedtation, then went to the OR, where his life was saved. The guy was so drunk, I think he'd have been out cold if they had just showed him the sedative.
Load More Replies... MacintoshID 1 year ago
People like that should not let good brain cells go to waste. They are already working with a limited amount which you can tell they have when their immediate death isn't enough for them to stop updating their followers about their amazing life moments.
Al Padilla 1 year ago
Vascular occlusions do that. For stroke, "time is brain" and for heart, "time is myocardium."
Load More Replies... Manana Man 1 year ago
Hello everybody out there. Americans have health insurance.
Load More Replies... #18
I'm a dietitian so no one follows my advice. It just takes longer for them to die from it.
Gwyn 1 year ago (edited)
I think people underestimate how much a good diet can help. I sure did. Saw a huge difference when I started getting enough protein. Wish I'd done it years earlier.
Magenta Blu 1 year ago
Maybe they know, but good food is not easy to afford for most people.
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Collette Moisan 1 year ago
I went to a few dietitians and they were all obese. If you are a dietitian, telling people how to eat, follow your own instructions.
Pill Nathan Whitely 1 year ago
My dietitian's instruction are so infuriating that I am following them to the letter, strictly so that I can live long enough to dance on his grave!
Robert Trebor 1 year ago
One doctor tells you to cut out the carbs. Another doctor says little to no protein. What to do.
Anna Drever 1 year ago (edited)
With protein it’s hard to be deficient if you’re eating enough calories. That said, elderly people apparently need more protein than the rest of us. For carbs it’s common sense. Eat non processed or as minimally processed as possible (starchy veg, grains etc, etc) and you’re good. Eating donuts, pies, fried foods and cakes in excess not a good idea.
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#19
Nurse/paramedic here. Frequently went to a patient's home for a shortness of breath call. She was always smoking while receiving supplemental oxygen, which is quite dangerous. I told her to stop doing it. A few weeks later, she burned her house down and nearly died of third degree facial burns after continuing to smoke while on oxygen.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
At least it was only herself she hurt- my little brother was on oxygen most of the time and so many times he went for appointments at the hospital and there were people smoking outside (even when the exclusion zone was increased) most times, some of them were also on oxygen.
Vix Spiderthrust 1 year ago
Or you see them standing smoking by the oxygen storage unit...
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Hannah Taylor 1 year ago (edited)
Someone relayed to me a story about an emphysema patient. She would use her oxygen tank, then shut it off and chain smoke. Addiction to nicotine is a bìtch in a bridal gown.
Vix Spiderthrust 1 year ago
Hospital near me recently had a patient smuggle a crack pipe in (made out of an asthma inhaler - bonus points for creativity). On oxygen. Blew herself up, thankfully she was in a side room so she didn't take the whole ward out. She was found literally melted to her bed. Lots of smoke inhalation but no other fatalities.
MacintoshID 1 year ago
An elderly neighbor was a COPD patient who thought the O2 tank and her ash tray were one in the same. My mother would go off on her everytime she stopped in, only to be laughed at and told, well it hasn't happen yet, so probably not going to. She died from a house fire that her smoking started, about a week after my mother's last visit. Very sad.
somnomania (she/her, queer) 1 year ago
smoking is so incredibly bad and addictive, it's a real problem :(
#20
I've read that the most common reason for a surgery to be re-performed is the patient not following doctor's orders during recovery.
Doctor says: "Don't ride your bicycle for six weeks."
Patient hears: "Don't ride your bicycle until you feel you can.".
PFD 1 year ago
I bet that in a majority of such cases it's the need to return to work, school etc. that drives the non-compliance.
BrunoVI 1 year ago
Except from what I've seen, there's an attitude among the wealthy/powerful/retired/comfortable that they're exempt from the rules for everyone else. I don't even necessarily mean arrogance, but rather identification with lead characters in movies.
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CanadianDimes 1 year ago
20 years ago, I broke my leg and sustained a serious and complex soft tissue injury in the same leg. I was on full crutches (no weight at all on the injured leg) for 9-12 weeks. I had a friend at the time who actually got annoyed at me about 6-8 weeks in and told me it was fine to start putting weight on it again. I opted to listen to the medical advice of the actual surgeon whose job it was to understand my injury and the recovery time so I could, y'know, actually recover rather than to the person who'd failed to get into medical school.
Nicole Weymann 1 year ago
I had just returned from a week in hospital after hysterectomy. The advice was to "lift nothing heavier than 2 kilos for six weeks". Went shopping and asked my father if there was anything he needed. "Yeah, bring a crate of water, please" For anyone not from Germany: that means 24 bottles of water, 1 litre each. I politely declined.
Robert Trebor 1 year ago
Someone I know had a knee replacement. They gave her a kick machine and she was supposed to do 2 hours morning and evening. She'd do 10 to 15 minutes, get bored and quit. Now five years down the road and she needs another knee (rekneeds?) but now she's too poor a risk for the surgery, because she thinks she knows better than the doctors how much meds she needs to take. Sheesh!
Heffalump 1 year ago
Gotta say, this kind of thing is down to poor communication by the doctor. The doctor knows how they expect the patient to progress, and therefore knows that the patient will feel recovered long before they actually are. So the the doctor should lay that out for the patient. Otherwise the wait time will just feel like a conservative estimate to be safe, and it is NOT unreasonable for the patient to make a judgement on when they are healed.
Colleen Glim 1 year ago
What part of don’t ride your bike for six weeks was poorly communicated? Seems pretty clear to me. People are just stupid
Load More Replies... #21
Not a med professional, but my aunt is and I'd like to share her horrifying story. She once had a patient, young guy in his early 20's, who had very poor hygiene. Didn't shower regularly, didn't brush his teeth, wore the same clothes for days on end...etc. IIRC he one day came in with a nasty rash on his lower abdomen/pubic area that was starting to show signs of infection.
She provided antibiotics and instruction and ***extensively stressed*** to him to improve hygiene and keep the area clean otherwise it'll just keep coming back or get worse. Well, as the story goes, he didn't pick up the prescription and apparently choose to just keep putting A&D Gold ointment on the area. She later found out he ended up in the ER after going into shock at work, turns out he ended up getting gangrene in the area and it had spread to his p**is and s*****m which had to be removed.
Raffe Raffen 1 year ago
Spending so much energy deciphering these redacted words that the words themselves get etched into my subconscious. I'll probably say s-c-r-o-t-u-m randomly in conversations for days
Bettye McKee 1 year ago
Isn't that ridiculous? Sometimes I can't figure out what they've censored and just leave it and go on to something else. What do they think they're protecting us from?
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Dumb teenager 1 year ago
Once again a case of natural selection. I believe we should all be thankful that he’s no longer able to reproduce
Glasofruix 1 year ago
You know, in most cases when you tell a dude his d*ck will fall off it's enough for him to get reeeeeaaaally thorough when following directions.
Bettye McKee 1 year ago
My son-in-law got a bad cut on his foot. The doctor tended it and dressed it. He told R to be sure to change the dressing every day. He never changed it because "the doctor did such a good job he didn't want to disturb it." He died of sepsis.
Mabelbabel 1 year ago
Fourniers gangrene. Please don't Google it. It's what Harvey Weinstein had.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
It's an ointment for babies for diaper rash. It has petrolatum and lanolin as its primary ingredients. We used to put it on my dad after his accident, because he had catastrophic brain damage and was bedridden and had to wear adult diapers. But a normal adult should NOT be using it in lieu of proper hygiene/bathing.
Load More Replies... Robert Trebor 1 year ago
I presume it should've been t.e.n.t.a.c.l.e.s, I mean t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e.s. The s.c.r.o.t.u.m is merely a container.
Jackie Lulu 1 year ago
Sometimes they will not fill the prescription because they don't have the money for it, and then get written off as non-compliant. They are too embarrassed to tell the doctor the reason why.
#22
My dad tells a story of a morbidly obese woman who came into his clinic and after an exam told her simply: "If you don't make drastic changes to your lifestyle and diet and start losing weight you are going to die." She was dead within the week. Her family tried to sue because my dad was clearly "a witch doctor" and cursed her to death. It was sad all around.
Deborah B 1 year ago
I doubt any lifestyle or diet changes were going to have sufficient effect in one week to save her life.
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 1 year ago
Well... no, obviously, but the doctor giving the advice didn't know she'd die within the week, and the family aren't saying that the change killed her, but that the doctor's words were a premonition or curse.
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michael Chock 1 year ago
Gotta admire the people that call research and knowledge witchcraft while using magnets and plant oils to "cure" themselves.
Lyoness 1 year ago
It's so sad to read stories of people who won't listen to doctors, especially when it's about changes to their lifestyle that can save their lives. If only our system would prescribe counselling along with this advice because in almost all cases there's a mental disorder involved. No one wants to be morbidly obese. Most are self medicating with food and need help beyond "change now".
#23
I'm not a medical professional, but I used to get allergy injections to build up my immune system because of the crazy amount of allergies I had. I would get these injections every week and I was instructed by my family doctor and the allergist to wait in the waiting room 30 minutes after the injection in case I received a reaction.
Well, one day I decided I didn't want to wait anymore (also because it had been a few months without a reaction) and left immediately after my appointment. I went into anaphylactic shock not even 10 minutes later. It was crazy because I didn't even know what was happening at first and didn't even know how to use an EpiPen.
Manana Man 1 year ago
I got those shots for a couple years. After quite a few shots and no reactions I assumed I wasn't going to have any reactions and started leaving early. Never had a reaction but I guess I was being stupid.
Upstaged75 1 year ago
I got allergy shots every week from age 6 through age 18. In all that time I never had a reaction, but I still never left early before the recheck. It was worst when I was younger because first you have to wait to get called for your shot. Then you have to sit and wait for 30 minutes until they call you back and clear you to leave. It felt like hours to me. I never even thought about how my mom had to sit there with me and she was probably bored as well!
catpanda 1 year ago
I was at my allergists, getting my allergy shot before work. A gentleman got his shot and left as I was going in. Not 5 minutes later was back, collapsed and the doctor used the epi pen on him to no effect. His bowels opened, it was horrible. Thankfully EMS came on time and as I walked out of the office, the man was sitting up and breathing on his own. Please always wait that 10 minutes in the office after your shot.
Midoribird Aoi 1 year ago
I took allergy shots for eighteen months as a teen. It was fine at first, but then I started getting hives that got progressively worse as time went on, and also progressively more painful and itchy. I finally had to put a stop to it when it became debilitating. I didn't care for anaphylaxis territory.
somnomania (she/her, queer) 1 year ago (edited)
i'm getting allergy shots right now, and no one cares, but story time: the place where my mom and i started out getting them did the shots, and because over months and years neither of us ever reacted to them beyond getting a big swollen place where the shots were delivered, we were always allowed to leave right away. the immunologist left that practice, so we had to find a new one somewhere else (no replacement doc meant the nurse could no longer legally do the injections there). this new place, everyone was shocked about the way we'd been getting them and reacting at the old place, and the buildup is *much* slower here, and we're also required to sit 30 minutes. it's a bit annoying, since it goes so slowly i have absolutely zero reaction, but it does seem like the old place was a bit wilder about how they did things. this new place also requires us to each carry an epipen for our appointments, just in case. also learned from the new place about not even using the bathroom until about 20 minutes from the shots has passed, and not doing anything strenuous for several hours.
#24
Once I was the only doctor on duty in a rural village with diminished medical supplies. The village is called Shinafiyah and lies in the desert southern Iraq. A 4 years old child came to what was supposed to be an ER with diarrhea and some dehydration. They didn't have tab water and they drink from a near-by river (directly that is). From what I gathered it seemed that the child had cholera. Cholera has some unique reputation in medicine that I will skip here for the sake of your appetite. I strongly urged his father to keep him longer for observation but he refused. A few hours later he came back and the child was very ill and severely dehydrated. He was -as we describe such case medically- drowsy. He looked like a rotten wooden doll with the sunken eyes of an old man. I couldn't get an IV access (an accessible vein for fluids) and didn't have a central line set. I had to cannulate one of the large veins of his neck and he barely made it. Cholera wasn't endemic (not usually seen) there, so I had to make some calls and provide some samples to be tested about 200 miles away and send the child with an ambulance after he was stable. The father and his son came back a couple of weeks later to visit. I gave him some chlorine tablets and cookies for the kids.
Luis Hernandez Dauajare 1 year ago
Sounds to me that this is not a patient ignoring medical advice. It is poor family's kid who barely survived an easily preventable disease due to the conditions of a war-torn country. This is tragic...
somnomania (she/her, queer) 1 year ago (edited)
access to good, clean water is so vital to life
#25
My wife is a labor and delivery nurse. When a baby is born they give it some vitamin that the baby can't produce itself for the first 6 months of its life (or something like that), i think its Vitamin K to help with blood clotting. its potentially lethal if the baby doesn't get this obviously as they can bleed out internally. Welp, one mother didn't want their kid getting vitamin K cuz anti-vaxxer. Baby ended up dying in the NICU. No way to know if the lack of vitamin K contributed to the death or not but...i think most medical professionals would point to it being part of the reason the baby died. EDIT: To clarify, the cause of death *was* related to a bleeding issue. I don't recall the cause of the bleeding or what the specifics of the issue were but ultimately the baby doesn't get the clotting aid, baby bleeds to death, lacking the clotting aid likely played a role in the death.
Jess Smith 1 year ago
Alright, the US values a life - an average life - at $10 million. So that's how much they should've been fined. Money can go to giving others vaccines, just to rub it in. And a negligence charge, of course. And if they have other kids, a CPS call.
Load More Replies... Becca not Becky 1 year ago
The Vitamin K shot isn't even a vaccine. The bleeding condition is quite uncommon but so much easier to prevent than to treat.
Nicole Weymann 1 year ago
"It comes in a syringe, of course it's a vaccine, you idyut!" HeII, I'm no medical professional and even I get pi$$ed at laymen who don't know the difference between viruses and bacteria, but "know what's best for my child , because it's MINE!" If giving birth was any indicator of proficiency, we'd be treated by effing RATS.
Load More Replies... somnomania (she/her, queer) 1 year ago
i don't like to wish death upon people but anti-vaxxers need to go. the vaccines exist for extremely good reasons, and 99.999% of the time have no detrimental effects. the worst part is that most of them have HAD vaccines, legally mandated ones when they were babies and children.
Jayeff Vee 1 year ago
Religious freedom in the USA. Or, free to follow MY religion in the USA...
Bettye McKee 1 year ago
No problem. They can make another one just like it. (My opinion of anti-vaxxers.)
coffee loving panda 1 year ago
i never heard of this iI have three healthy kids and never did they get a supplement
Jaya 1 year ago
It depends on what country you live (and whether your kids were born long ago, the guidelines have probably changed over time). In many countries kids get given vitamin K by medical professionals right after birth, and in some countries a couple of times after that. In some countries through injections, in some through supplements. Some countries advise parents to give the child regular vitamin K supplements, but in most countries it's administered by the professionals.
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Laura Mitchell 1 year ago
Probably a brain bleed. Pediatricians won't do a circumcision if the baby didn't get Vitamin K.
#26
One time at the VA after adult circumcision. "Do not have sex or masturbate for 6 weeks" Decided to masturbate the next day. All stitches tore.
Annabelle 1 year ago
I can’t imagine why you even want to touch it before it is properly healed.
SmooshieFries 1 year ago
Sister's FIL had a circumcision in his 70's due to multiple infections from too much moisture- kinda like swamp a*s but of the weewee
Robert Beveridge 1 year ago
I had a vasectomy in 1999. I have since been under the impression that nothing in my life would make me cringe more than seeing smoke rising from between my legs during that procedure. I now know I was horribly, horribly wrong.
somnomania (she/her, queer) 1 year ago
i'm sorry, *smoke*? also i wouldn't think you'd be awake for a procedure like that, but i have no idea how it's done, so it's likely i'm mistaken.
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#27
Had a patient who was NPO (not allowed to eat) because he had a bowel obstruction. He didn’t like that we weren’t feeding him, so, unbeknownst to the nurses, he called up Papa John’s and ordered some garlic knots. He ate the entire box. Then, predictably, he vomited them up, aspirated his vomit, went into respiratory arrest, and coded. We did CPR and got him back. He had some underlying lung issues so we never could get him weaned off the ventilator. He spent a month in the icu and was eventually discharged to a long-term care facility with a tracheostomy on the vent.
Ordhaj 1 year ago
My mother had bowel obstruction. She started out not feeling well, then started vomiting. She couldn't eat, and I tried to give her ice chips to keep her hydrated. For 48 hours, I insisted she go to the hospital and she just hotly refused (she was a very stubborn woman). I was only visiting and said that I would cancel my flight home. Again, she refused to hear of it. So, I called my cousin (who is as tough as nails) and told her Mom had to go to the hospital. After I left, my cousin went over, took one look at her and walked over to the phone and dailed 911. The hospital operated immediately and told her that, if they hadn't been able to, they would have sent her to the next closest hospital (about 140 km away). I told my mother that if she ever pulled a stunt like that again, I'd just dial 911 and tell the paramedics, "Don't listen to the old lady; she has dementia."
#28
Me. Didn’t almost die but I was very very sick. I went for a mini vacation in Batam, Indonesia where our villa had a private pool. Throughout our 48 hour stay, I spent more time in the water than out. The time I wasn’t in the water, I was in our air conditioned villa room with just a t shirt (now damp) over my swimsuit. In the day it was blazing hot, and at night it was super windy because it was near the sea. I am also asthmatic. While its mostly under control, I usually get a tight chest feeling when I am ill and haven’t had a full attack in years. I fell sick after the trip, high fever runny nose, cough. I am also a healthcare professional, I studied life sciences and diagnotic testing, I am hardly bothered and can take care of myself when I get sick. Eventually the fever went away and I was left with a cough. The week after the vacation, I was still having a “cough”, and we went to play paintball. Completely overexerted myself running, ducking, crawling, what have you. After the game, we went to a friend’s place to have lunch and chill. I fell asleep but woke up coughing with the feeling of something being stuck in my respiratory tract, i thought it was phlegm. Went to the bathroom to cough it out but nothing was happening. I lost track of time and apparently I was in the bathroom coughing away for about 30 minutes. Friends asked if I was alright and I just kept saying “yeah its just a cough, I think there’s some phlegm stuck and I’m trying to get it out”. Finally went to see the the doctor (my regular GP) the next day. Turns out I was having a very serious asthma attack. I just couldn’t recognise it because I haven’t had one in many years. Worst thing is this was the same doctor who told me to always carry my inhaler around JUST IN CASE but I just wasn’t diligent about it. Until now, my friends would yell “ITS JUST A COUGH I’M FINE” whenever I make even the smallest cough or sneeze. Now that I think about it, I actually could have died.
Becky Samuel 1 year ago
Because it gives a feasible explanation for the cough.
Load More Replies... Hannah Taylor 1 year ago
Same thing for me. I had a persistent cough that started not too long after my last COVID booster. After being prescribed a number of medications that didn't help, I was referred to a pulmonologist (sp). Yup, asthma. Brio in the morning, an inhaler by my side, and occasional use of a nebulizer to help me breathe better. Asthma isn't just an annoyance, it can kill.
Sweet Taurus 1 year ago
I'm so glad his friends are there to remind him of what could have happened.
Upstaged75 1 year ago
My best friend from college has asthma and I swear she coughed for the entirety of our senior year. It got so bad someone dubbed her Tubercu-Girl. And yet she insisted she was fine. She eventually got it straightened out I guess, but I don't know how she stood it. She's a doctor now, so hopefully she knows better than to ignore things like that! :)
Load More Replies... Brian Droste 1 year ago
I have a very light case of asthma. I don't care an inhaler om me. Not sure if I even have one in my house. The only time my asthma acts up is when I am in a dusty or dirty environment for a period of time. The last time I had a major asthma attack was some years ago when I was working. I might have had minor asthma attacks since then.
#29
It happened so often it was almost a non-issue. We would basically just shrug our shoulders and and say welp.
- I had a patient who kept adjusting her insulin dosage against my advice because she was terrified of having her feet amputated like her mom. So she had several occasions of dangerously low blood sugar...one of which put her in the ICU
- had a lady who had the opposite problem: raging diabetes but in deep denial...so she would never take her insulin...so she was in the ICU multiple times for the diabetic ketoacidosis
- had a ton of patients on dialysis who skipped dialysis for whatever f*****g reason...didn't feel like going, had a fight with boyfriend who was her ride, took a vacation to a city without a dialysis unit, etc etc...so they would come in with their electrolytes all f****d and had to get emergency dialysis inpatient
- had a billion old fat men with chest pain for weeks refuse to come into the hospital to be evaluated for cardiovascular issues and either die at home or come back a week later with extensive MIs.
- half of my patients with COPD were still active smokers despite my exhortations...one had burn scars over a third of his body from the LAST time he smoked around his O2 tank
- had patients take extra doses of benzodiazepines (Xanax, Valium, etc.) and end up in the hospital with overdoses.
Enuya 1 year ago
The last one may be a potential suicide attempt. That's why suicide stats (no matter global or country-scaled ones) aren't fully believable - many attempts with d***s and other similar methods where patient survives are later labelled as "accidental overdose" because the patient/their family doesn't want to admit what really happened. Given how messed up psychiatric and psychological care is in many countries - sad, but not surprising.
Little My 1 year ago
A lot of these are that their tolerance have gone up, they aren’t getting the same effect as before or they are mixing with repeat prescriptions given but no real monitoring, therapy, weaning or CBT, cessation. Misadventure is huge, due to illicit d***s, alcohol and prescribe polypharmacy Some aren’t true suicides or cry for help, they’re just a dangerous mix
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LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
Diabetes and morbid obesity is rampant in my family. It's horrible to witness. I have seen all my cousins around my age die young, in their 20s-30s, and then watched their parents eventually die as well. I've had family members have to have multiple amputations due to gangrene, and they don't heal well - or sometimes at all - due to the obesity, diabetes, and related comorbidities. I have one cousin my age left - she is 6 years younger than me, 36 - and she is obese, has non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, pre-Parkinson's (hastened by her obesity), and a host of other issues. I don't know how much longer she will live. The saddest part? Her mother (also morbidly obese) was an ER nurse for decades. I don't understand how she doesn't "see" what our family history has been. *Her* mother had to have an arm amputated due to gangrene and died of it. I don't know how to save my family.
somnomania (she/her, queer) 1 year ago
i'm so sorry. :( sometimes the stubbornness is just too powerful.
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Libby King 1 year ago
Ok, I feel for the First Lady, because she’s seen what it’s like to lose feet and she’s terrified about it.
#30
Hahah, I didn't almost die, but I got scarring on my eyes after surgery because I didn't follow the instructions for my eye drops.
The eye drops had a thick translucent quality, and it felt disgusting to have this white gooey substance in my eyes, so I kept postponing putting them in.
I can still see well, but I could have avoided getting unclear stripes in my field of vision. Beat myself up for it for about two years, but was at last able to forgive myself.
Zoe Vokes 1 year ago
I really hope I don’t need eye drops for medical reasons because I am terrible at doing them. I have the worst blink reflex. It takes me about twenty attempts to get an eye drop in.
Auntriarch 1 year ago
I find it helps to pull the lower eyelid out a bit and drop the stuff the little pocket it forms, it will get distributed when you blink
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pocwaddler 1 year ago
Daughter went on a Grand Canyon youth river trip. She had contact lens but refused to take them out and wear her glasses because teenager. Got sand in her eye which became inflamed and infected, so she had to evacuated by helicopter from the bottom of the canyon. The helicopter ride was no cost (Park Service considers it good training) but the 1/2 mile, ten minute ride from the helipad to the clinic on the South Rim was almost $1000.
Bettye McKee 1 year ago
After my cataract surgery, I got COVID (second bout) and didn't get to keep my follow-up appointment or use the eye drops. My vision is fine but I have a halo in my right eye. That means when I look at something, I see a ring around it.
Luis Hernandez Dauajare 1 year ago
I had a friend you nearly lost her eyesight for using the wrong drops. She read "otical" on the bottle, thought it was a typo in the label for "optical" and put them on. They were ear drops.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
I hate eyedrops (leftover trauma from eye problems/surgery when young) but I wouldn't let that stop me using them when needed, my vision is too important! I would probably make mum give them to me instead :)
Al Padilla 1 year ago
Is that why every time you see the ophthalmologist, they say "I'll be seeing you" with the emphasis on the first and last words?
MacintoshID 1 year ago
To anyone who is prescribed eye drops: DON'T IGNORE TAKING THEM! A girlfriend did this due to the same reason the OP did, didn't like the feeling. She is now legally blind in that eye and has issues with the other that are getting worse with time. She is only 44. All due to not taking her medicine for the original eye problem.
Jan Moore 1 year ago
I had soft contacts, about 40 some years ago, so they were not the leave-in, sleep-in type. I hadn't worn them for a while so I started on the break-in schedule, in 4 hours, off 2 hours, in 4 hours. The next day I couldn't open my eyes they hurt so bad. Had to be lead by the hand by my Mom for an emergency appointment. The MD said I wrinkled my cornea, my Mom got to look and said they looked like moon craters. Spent the weekend in bed cause I couldn't see to do anything, then continued with eye drops every 4 hours. It was scary, I thought I was going to be blind.
pocwaddler 1 year ago
Daughter went on a Grand Canyon youth trip. She had contacts but refused to wear her glasses for the trip because teenager. Got sand in her eye and had to be evacuated by helicopter from the bottom of the canyon. The National Park Service considers such flights as training and there’s no cost. The 1/2 mile, ten minute ride in an ambulance from the helipad to the clinic cost almost $1000.
#31
Patient had vague abdominal symptoms, and I recommended a CT scan. He refused cause he was afraid of radiation. He also refused colonoscopy so all we could do was an ultrasound, which found nothing cause he was fat and abdominal ultrasound is a s****y examination anyway. A year later he was admitted again, and this time he couldn't refuse a CT - where we found a massive colon cancer. He's probably dead now.
#32
Please don't get up on your own!
Then he gets up on own and pulls out line going into jugular that leads directly to the heart and proceeds to bleed all over everything until he pass out and almost dies. again.
KieLeaHar 1 year ago
Mittens like a kitten LOL. Sorry I thought of it because your name. I had IV lines in my neck etc and trust me I wanted to pull them out as well. And a cone would not have stopped me.
Load More Replies... Some guy 1 year ago (edited)
I had the opposite. The morning after a hip replacement, the apparently new physical therapist had me taking a few steps with a walker. Ok, great. But then she tried to make me continue when I said I was feeling lightheaded. I had to threaten to pass out on her. Helping me back to the bed, she pulled out my IV. The funny thing was she was the one freaking out while I was taking care of my own wound.
#33
I worked in ER admissions throughout college. A teenager and his parents came in because he went over the handlebars on his bike. The staff wanted to keep him in observation overnight, but his parents refused, even after they offered to put him in a recovery room that was near the ER and normally only used during the day for outpatient surgeries. They came back the next day, and he was white as a ghost. It turned out he had punctured some part of his digestive system and, I think, had some internal bleeding. It's the only true emergency surgery I saw in the four years I worked there when the staff actually ran to the OR with a patient.
Philly Bob Squires 1 year ago
I don't understand how people make medical decisions on the words of actors/tiktokers/politicians, instead of , you know, maybe trained medical personnel?
Load More Replies... #34
Eye doctor here. I had a patient who came in and on evaluation I determined that her diabetes was out of control by the look of her retinas which required immediate intervention. I sent her straight to the retina specialist who then scheduled her for an OR. She decided that day not to go in because she had work and couldn’t afford to take off. She was cleaning houses and the sprays made her sneeze, causing massive hemorrhaging In her eyes due to the weakened vascular state from the diabetes. She went immediately blind and got into emergency surgery that day. It took months of recovery and injections to reverse some damage and she now (years later) has functional vision again. Her kidneys were also failing her and she had no idea. This kicked off a massive lifestyle change and a chain of doctors appointments that saved her life. All starting from an eye exam. EDIT: Lots of comments about economic reasons to have no-showed for her surgery. I don’t disagree that it’s an awful situation, but the reality is that she had a choice of: Go Blind, or Go to Work. The specialist was even willing to curb the cost of her emergency surgery due to her extenuating circumstance. She chose to go blind. Modern medicine thankfully saved her, but her decision she made was objectively the wrong one. You can’t make much money blind either. Hindsight, however, is 20/20.
Becky Samuel 1 year ago
My husband had no idea that his kidneys were failing as a side effect of high blood pressure. The only symptoms he had were night sweats and having to urinate more frequently, which is so common in men as they get older that it was easy to ignore. Bynthe time he was sent for treatment his kidney function was at 12%.
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shereallylikesmusic 1 year ago
To be forced to choose between being healthy or broke sounds like an awful joke to me (European here)... :(
RedMarbles 1 year ago
As an American, thank you for your compassion. It is pretty awful.
Load More Replies... pocwaddler 1 year ago
You can’t. My kidneys failed and I thought i was just tired, out of shape, stressed from work. Went on a vacation and could barely function; I was confused, weak, chilled all the time. With Renal failure you don’t have bleeding or pain or your hair doesn’t fall out, you Just. Slow. Down. Found out I was at 8% kidney function. The only way to know for sure is through blood and urine tests.
RedMarbles 1 year ago
I think it would be more fair to say that she chose to risk going blind, rather than chose to go blind. People without means and good healthcare coverage can get pretty accustomed to taking risks. OP is far too harsh imo, curbed surgery costs or not.
#35
Not a doctor, have worked in addictions field. Too many clients have died or will die because despite the repeated warnings from their doctor that they have almost no liver function or that what they’re drinking is giving them all sorts of brain damage they continue to drink hard. But a lot of these guys feel like they have nothing to live for but the bottle. It’s really heartbreaking.
ScarletRos 1 year ago
I knew a guy like that. Very smart, had been a university lecturer but the booze took over and he could barely manage a pizza delivery job. Died at only 44.
Magenta Blu 1 year ago
My kids grandfather. He drank until he fried his liver out of alcoholic cirrhosis and then, just because their son and daughter are both well known doctors, he received a liver transplant even though he doesn't meet transplant receiver criteria by a long shot. And of course he is drinking his new liver out. Again.
FoxEcoLimaIndiaCharlieIndiAlfa 1 year ago
I think organ transplants should be one of those things that it doesn't matter who you are, or how much money you have, or are willing to pay, you shouldn't be able to jump the queue. This guy is a known alcoholic that caused the extensive damage done to his liver and yet he received a new liver because of who his kids are. That organ could have gone to someone else that wouldn't take the second chance for granted. I could see if the guy battled active alcoholism for 30 years but for the past, at least 5+ years, he has remained sober and has changed his lifestyle. It's sad that innocent people have to suffer because of the entitlement and greed of a few.
Load More Replies... #36
I've seen a lot of heart failure patients as a student. These people have problems with swelling, and are often told to follow low sodium, low fluid diets, and need to be taking diuretics (people often call them water pills). There's always a handful that never follow these instructions and don't take their medications, and they need to be admitted every few weeks/months. They have liters, yes multiple liters, of fluid diuresed (peeing out) out of them. This one super obese woman (BMI >50) had like 40 liters taken off of her in a couple weeks. I don't know how she could breathe. Imagine having so much fluid stuck in your legs you could probably fill up a kiddie pool. As mentioned a lot in this thread, a lot of this is facilitated by their own lifestyle and noncompliance. It's incredibly frustrating.
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 1 year ago
I have this issue, and it does indeed cause a lot of breathing problems.
Ace 1 year ago
You've mentioned your weight problems before and it worries me. Not for you, you understand, but who's going to open the cans for Bouche and Audi once you're gone?
Load More Replies... Jan Moore 1 year ago
My Dad had heart failure, end of life. He was 95 years old and had lived all his life in his own home. Then he started to have swelling in his legs that wouldn't go down even with wrapping. He'd wake up with a wet bed and his pants would get wet. He had so much fluid in his legs that his legs had no give when you poked them and he was not urine incontinent but the fluid was seeping through the skin on his thighs. He was admitted to cardiac care and was given 2 units of blood. A week later it was the same. We discussed his further care and he decided he didn't want to continue like that. He went on hospice and they gave him morphine on a schedule. He was gone within 2 days.
#37
Had a patient signed out by another ER doc at shift change pending chest X-ray. CXR showed aortic dissection. This guy should’ve been dead already. Being a small hospital (level 3 trauma center) in the middle of nowhere, we call the closest level 1 for a transfer. Ambulance shows up for transfer and the guy decides he’s not going. He’s got enemies in that city and they’ll k**l him. After a standoff in the ER hallway involving security, police, EMTs, multiple docs, nurses, and a very scared scribe (me) the guy (a very large man) gets on board with the plan and decides not to leave AMA. Later, we find out from EMTs he tried to jump out of the ambulance en route to the other hospital. Once he arrived, he left AMA. No clue what happened to him after but damn the dissection was INSANE.
#38
Not a medical professional but my dad had a really serious cough that i told him he had to get checked out he ignored me for weeks and coughed and coughed. Eventually, he coughed up blood and i essentially forced him to go to the doctor. He was diagnosed with TB (I am vaccinated luckily) and if he had left it any longer he would have died. Edit: okay this blew up way more than I expected it to jeez this happened a little while ago now but for most of the duration of his cough he was overseas (he works for trinity and gets paid to work in places like India, China, Korea etc, and we FaceTime call regularly) so luckily I wasn't around him very much for most of the duration of his cough (or presumably when he first caught it) and it was maybe a day after he came home after being abroad that he coughed up blood. I did get tested at the hospital and no i don't have TB but i didn't know the vaccine was so ineffective and i guess I'm really lucky I wasn't around him alot.
T'Mar of Vulcan 1 year ago (edited)
My friend had HIV and got a type of TB that goes to your brain. She was doing all sorts of crazy things like waking up at 5 am, coming to my house and cleaning the outside of the house and garden for goodness knows what reason. We got her admitted to hospital via a private psychiatric company (they'll come for free but take you to a public hospital once you're stabilized). She got better and then we lost touch for a while. Her brother called me a couple of years later to tell me she'd died. :(
Kalikima 1 year ago
I broke one coughing too.. damn did it hurt. Especially since the cough didn't go away for weeks..
Load More Replies... Laugh or not 1 year ago
TB vaccination is effective for around 30% of vaccinated people. You get two injections, if after the second you don't have a response, it is useless to do more than that. I am happy to be part of the 30%.
#39
I’m a resident. It Happens almost every day. 2 examples in the last week: -Pt comes in with R sided weakness (almost 24 hours after it started, you can see where this is going). BP 190’s/110. Gets a stroke workup, and of course, has a left sided stroke. He needs to be admitted for BP control, further stroke workup(Echo, other lab work). Pt refuses admission, says he is fine, and leaves AMA (against medical advice). We discharge him on 4 new meds (BP Med, statin, Aspirin, another anti-platelet). Never picks them up. Next day he is back with left sided weakness, you guessed it, another stroke. Dude can barely move now. -Pt comes in with N/V, tremors, is in alcohol withdrawal. We load him up with benzos, and then barbiturates. He needs admission to ICU bc of both alcohol withdrawal and bc we loaded him with respiratory-depressing and sedating d***s. He says he feels better (no s**t, we just took you out of withdrawal), refuses admission, and leaves AMA. He comes back later that day barely breathing/AMS because he went out and pounded 750ml of vodka. Edit: N/V= Nausea/Vomiting AMS=altered mental status.
Dainty72 1 year ago
People just need to just write what those initials mean, because they end up having to explain anyway. Sorry OP!
CF 1 year ago
After a few years of being deep into a field that not everyone understandsuch about, you start to forget what the average person who's NOT in that particular field knows or doesn't know. Definitely happened to me, to a degree, with vet medicine since I was immersed in the subject and I tracked with very few outside of vet med for several years.
Load More Replies... ConstantlyJon 1 year ago
Welcome to the medical field with the abbreviations. I'm not even clinical, but I still have to speak that language. Just talking scheduling with appointment (it pained me to not write appt just now) notes, my notes can look something like: "3mo HS FV per HF in EIB" or some ridiculous s**t like that.
#40
I wasn't there that day, but we had a patient who had been noncompliant with his leg pumps---these inflatable Velcro things that force blood to continue circulating so that clots don't form in the legs. He didn't want to wear them, and he had the right to refuse, so we couldn't force him. Lo and behold, when therapy finally got him up to walk the halls, he immediately keeled over from a massive heart attack. They coded him right there on the floor, and got him back, but he passed later that night.
#41
Friend of mine had a broken leg, got infected, his mum wouldn't force him to take the correct medication. How he kept his leg I have no idea, he had so many complications.
#42
I am a psychotherapist who has worked extensively with addicts. Most of them don’t take the advice to quit their substance of choice, but one particular case comes to mind with this question. Not only did I impress upon him how important it was for his to stop drinking, but so did his psychiatrist, and PCP. His PCP eventually fired him as a patient because he wouldn’t listen. The guy was jaundiced, in liver failure, and looked like walking death. He lived longer than any of us expected him to, but he finally passed last year because of the damage he did from his heavy drinking. Edit: I should clarify that we worked at an inpatient behavioral health hospital during the time I treated him and we would treat him with a detox, therapy, meds, and provide him with resources once he discharged. We would do this in every admission, which was approximately once per month over the course of the 4 years that I worked there. We tried our best to support and help with with whatever we had. We didn’t just tell him to stop and then go on our way.
#43
Almost every day - "You MUST NOT get up or you will die from embolus"
Walks to bathroom to take a s**t.
Becky Samuel 1 year ago
Then bring us a bedpan in less than an hour. My IBS gives me at most 5 minutes before I foul myself. I've seen patients wait for 2 hours for a commode.
Zoe Vokes 1 year ago
I don’t know if I could psychologically manage to do a poo in a bedpan held by nurses. I’ve been bed bound in hospital for days before and had to wee in a bed pan and that was okay. I imagine I would have held a poo in until I was in immense pain rather than poo in front of people.
#44
This doesn't exactly fit the prompt, but I was advising a patient to go to the ER because his blood potassium levels where off, which can cause a lot of problems. He argued and argued with me about it, but In my position you can't force anyone to do anything.Long story short, he didn't go to the ER. He ded now.
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 1 year ago
Why go to the doctor in the first place if you're going to ignore their advice?
DaisyBee 1 year ago
They normally go expecting the doctor to tell them exactly what they want to hear. They’re either too sick to see the truth, too delusional to accept it or too entitled and stubborn to listen to it
Load More Replies... #45
I’m sure this person didn’t almost die, but I was once in a consult where the outcome was this: Patient complains that stomach hurts when he drinks too much beer. Recommendation: drink less beer. Any guesses about exactly what that guy did NOT do?
#46
EMT/paramedic student here. So we had a patient who was morbidly obese and couldn’t get out of his house. He decides after about 4 days of uncontrolled chest pain to call it in. Well we get there and find evidence of several MIs but refuses care and wants us to leave. About 45 mins later we get a call from the building he lived in and we got there and it was him in full blown cardiac arrest. This man was so obese that we couldn’t get him through the door and had to knockout a wall and lift him down off the second story with a lift. All the while me and my paramedic lead were bagging him through an ET tube. Lots of firsts on that call first ET tube I put in and first IO is ever seen done in the field.
CF 1 year ago
MI myocardial infarction aka heart attack. ETT endotracheal tube aka tube in the airway. IO is presumably intraosseous, meaning the guy was too fat (or too flat in the way of blood pressure) to be able to find a vein, so a large bore needle is jammed into a bone to deliver fluids and medications. The bone marrow is like a very meaty blood vessel. I've only done a handful of IO catheters, and those were in very young (and very nearly dead) puppies. Adults have thicker bone so harder to get needle through. Dunno how they do it in people.
#47
Honestly, many of the patients I come across are admitted related to non-compliance with their medication regimen or suggested lifestyle changes. There are many "frequent flyers" that return with the same complaint over and over again. You can only educate them on their disease process, and how to minimize the effects of it. After that, it's up to them. As stated in almost every other comment, many of these people are diabetics or have COPD. The diabetics eat whatever they please, and the COPD patients continue to smoke their pack/day.
#48
Not a professional, but my aunt got throat cancer from smoking. after chemo, she kept smoking.
Zoe Vokes 1 year ago
A lot of these aren’t so much ignoring medical advice but not being able to quit an addiction. You’re an alcoholic? Simply give up alcohol. You’re morbidly obese? Go on a diet. You’ve had throat cancer? Quit smoking. It’s not that easy for most people.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
Agreed. I struggled/still struggle with substance abuse/addiction (barbiturates and gabapentin, graduated to cocaine for a while) and it's not that easy to "just quit". You have to either hit rock bottom and have the "choice" taken out of your hands (get forcibly admitted to detox/rehab/hospital) or really WANT to stop and get help. One cannot "just" do it on their own easily. And the circumstances/life situations that CAUSED the addictions have to change/be changed, as well. After I got clean from cocaine, I was still in the same abusive relationship that caused me to turn to d***s in the first place, and I went right back to the barbiturates (easy to buy online.) I'm still struggling with it every day, though I'm currently clean. Am trying to gtfo the relationship that sent me down the spiral in the first place.
Load More Replies... #49
Had a patient stop taking his heart failure meds in favour of c*****e.
Dawn Woolley 1 year ago
I must be out of touch. What is c*****e? I came to read people's stories, not indulge in a guessing game.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
Cocaine. Columbian marching powder. Snow. Blow. The White Stuff.
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Gabrielle 1 year ago
It's that white, expensive powder people inhale through the nose recreationally. It can temporarily improve your mood but at the expense of your long-term health.
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#50
Not a medical professional but a close buddy of mine was very afraid of his parents when we were teens/ early 20s and everytime he was hungover his mom would take him to the doctor thinking he was sick and put him on antibiotics and he would go along with it and now his immune system is a mess.
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 1 year ago
Who are these doctors prescribing antibiotics for a hangover? I doubt the veracity of this one.
Suutashi 1 year ago
After what happened when I went to urgent care for Covid, this one doesn't surprise me. I went with my mom because we were both sick and the nurse practitioner we saw didn't even know how to check our blood pressure correctly at all. She also prescribed me all of this weird as heck medicine that had been proven to not work on Covid and was even known to cause serious complications in some individuals.
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Razill 1 year ago
Unfortunately I dont. Im an ID pharmacist and spend my days chasing down inappropriate antibiotic use. I have seen them used for d**g overdoses, cancer and "because the patient is sick". Its absolutely ridiculous but i would definitely believe, especially in the clinic setting that they would get an antibiotic for almost anything.
Kristal 1 year ago
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140331153520.htm
Load More Replies... What do you think ?
EmBree 1 year ago
Not Dr's advice but... My dad was terrified of Drs. He had a cough and we kept telling him to seek help. He was a heavy smoker and we though it was COPD. Months went by and he kept getting worse. Then, he went to the hospital after a colleague threatened to drag him there. It was a Tuesday and he died on Sunday. Liver cancer. The liver was so large that it pushed his lungs and heart to the top of the chest and that's why he coughed. We think he hid it for at least two years. Not a word to anyone. He chose death over us, and we're not even surprised.
T'Mar of Vulcan 1 year ago
This is all terrifying. And also why I follow the doctors' instructions to the letter when sick.
shereallylikesmusic 1 year ago
Ok, all these stories are terrifying. But to me, a person from a country with free, public healthcare, the most horrible aspect is the one where people have to choose between being Lucky and not die, or being broke AF... USA, that's soooooo messed up....
Samuel Pelatan 1 year ago (edited)
Yeah, but doctors aren't saints. One of the advice I was given by a doctor was to keep using a failing medical device that was destroying me mentaly. They didn't care about it and insisted I keep using it. I refused. Now i'm way better mentaly and physically. Medical advices are great when the doctors take time to listen to you and understand the issues you are facing and how they can help. Otherwise you are just another test result to tame.
Mere Cat 1 year ago
If not too personal, may I ask what was the medical device/problem with it? (Just wanting to learn, it's ok to not answer if you don't want to.)
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Tonyah Mcanelly 1 year ago
Doctors tell us things for our own good even if we don't like what we have to do. These stories are Darwin Award nominees.
Ann Mohrmann 1 year ago
My mother had to get shots directly in her eyes for her macular degeneration. If that ever happens to me, I'm just going to go blind. *shiver*
EmBree 1 year ago
Not Dr's advice but... My dad was terrified of Drs. He had a cough and we kept telling him to seek help. He was a heavy smoker and we though it was COPD. Months went by and he kept getting worse. Then, he went to the hospital after a colleague threatened to drag him there. It was a Tuesday and he died on Sunday. Liver cancer. The liver was so large that it pushed his lungs and heart to the top of the chest and that's why he coughed. We think he hid it for at least two years. Not a word to anyone. He chose death over us, and we're not even surprised.
T'Mar of Vulcan 1 year ago
This is all terrifying. And also why I follow the doctors' instructions to the letter when sick.
shereallylikesmusic 1 year ago
Ok, all these stories are terrifying. But to me, a person from a country with free, public healthcare, the most horrible aspect is the one where people have to choose between being Lucky and not die, or being broke AF... USA, that's soooooo messed up....
Samuel Pelatan 1 year ago (edited)
Yeah, but doctors aren't saints. One of the advice I was given by a doctor was to keep using a failing medical device that was destroying me mentaly. They didn't care about it and insisted I keep using it. I refused. Now i'm way better mentaly and physically. Medical advices are great when the doctors take time to listen to you and understand the issues you are facing and how they can help. Otherwise you are just another test result to tame.
Mere Cat 1 year ago
If not too personal, may I ask what was the medical device/problem with it? (Just wanting to learn, it's ok to not answer if you don't want to.)
Load More Replies... Tonyah Mcanelly 1 year ago
Doctors tell us things for our own good even if we don't like what we have to do. These stories are Darwin Award nominees.
Ann Mohrmann 1 year ago
My mother had to get shots directly in her eyes for her macular degeneration. If that ever happens to me, I'm just going to go blind. *shiver*
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