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45 Times Patients Googled Their Symptoms Before Seeing A Doctor And Shared What Happened Next
Just like us, you’ve probably been there. You feel ill but don’t understand why. You start searching for your symptoms online. And then you start panicking because you think you might have a horrible disease (or two). You get so wrapped up in your fears of the worst-case scenarios that you don’t consider that the alternative can be something else entirely.
That’s not to say that you should ignore your symptoms, but it’s better to speak to a medical professional than to get all in your head. Doctors took to two AskReddit online threads to reveal their top cases of patients Googling their symptoms. Scroll down for their experiences with the biggest self-misdiagnoses their patients made.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
My ex wife diagnosed herself (correctly) not off WebMD but at the local medical school library.
She was tired of scores of doctors doing nothing but prescribing yet another medicine to treat symptoms. She eventually began to wonder what the odds were that she'd have 10 different diseases with 20 different symptoms as opposed to having one disease that could account for all of them.
So she set out to find out if such a disease existed.
It did.
She then studied the clinical diagnostic criteria for that disease and began looking at her dozens upon dozens of test results and started putting two-and-two together.
She brought it up with our family practitioner who thought she just might be on to something. All of the specialists she saw thought she was an idiot, though.
"It's a one in a million chance you have that!" they all said.
"But the odds of me having these ten separate diseases to account for all my symptoms are one in 25 million," she'd point out. They still dismissed her as crazy.
She finally fought with the insurance company—with the family practitioner standing by her side the whole way—enough to get permission to visit probably the best specialist in the world for what she thought she had. He was in Seattle.
He confirmed she did. She had a relatively simple operation and was cured of all of those 20 symptoms overnight.
The whole experience of not being listened to by her doctors who were just interested only in prescribing medicine to treat symptoms instead of diagnosing root problems led her to go to medical school and become an endocrinologist.
Today she's an endocrinologist at one of the best hospitals in the world, and a medical school professor.
Sleepy Panda 3 months ago
If anyone is wondering, I went through the comments. It was Cushing’s Disease.
Sue User 3 months ago
I had prednisone induced Cushings for a bit. If you take high doses ( 60 milligrams ) for months, this is a possible side effect. Still have a bit of fat near my neck/ shoulder ( horse collar fat ).
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Lee Gilliland 3 months ago
It figures this would be a woman, everybody know all our symptoms for everything is hysteria because female.
Helena 3 months ago
Or weight. The diagnosis is always either woman or weight.
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Mel in Georgia 3 months ago
This might be one of the few really revolutionary, practical uses for AI. If you can tell it all the symptoms, scans and lab results, it can tell you all the possible causes. Even for rare diseases, this could help tremendously.
Sue User 3 months ago
Then you have to get a dictor to believe you. I was diagnosed by John Hopkins as having auto- immune, they were just in the business of figuring which one. Lost my job, moved across country, diagnosed aand treated by OHSU. Later told " I dont think you ever had auto- immune" and had doctor refuse to see me. Yep, all in my ( and countless other doctors ) head.
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Inacio Witt 3 months ago
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The BBC points out that it can be problematic if people turn exclusively to the internet to figure out something potentially embarrassing about their bodies, instead of speaking with real-life doctors.
According to Radio 1 medical expert Dr Radha, human beings tend to focus on worst-case scenarios. So, when you search online for all the possible causes of your symptoms, you tend to hone in on the most concerning ones.
“This causes anxiety and worry, which can have a damaging effect on your health too. Put a stop to the anxiety and worry by asking your doctor. If you are concerned about what you have read online, show them the website where you found it.”
There’s the opposite situation to worry about, too. For example, an individual might Google their symptoms and decide that nothing is wrong, when in fact they might be ill. Alternatively, they might come to the wrong conclusions about their health and misdiagnose themselves. This becomes an issue if you then delay seeing a doctor.
RELATED:
#2
RN, but my favorite was when a patients family member rudely insisted we give her mother who had a major stroke (resulting in nearly zero swallowing capability) as much water as she could drink because “I read a study online that said you can’t aspirate on water because your lungs just absorb it back into your bloodstream”. I looked her straight in the eyes and said “Ok, then explain drowning to me”.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 3 months ago
Holy hell. My dad got pneumonia quite a few times after his accident, because my mother insisted on repeatedly trying to feed him food and liquid by mouth, despite the massive atrophy that had occurred during his 6-month-long coma. (He had also sustained catastrophic brain damage during the accident and didn't "remember" how to eat properly, which didn't help.) He would choke and aspirate on even artificially-thickened liquids (we tried using Thick-It), and then he'd end up with pneumonia. My mother finally allowed a feeding tube to be installed and that at least stopped the aspiration pneumonia :( But it was incredibly traumatizing to watch my mom try to cram food and liquids into my dad's mouth and listen to him gasp and wheeze and choke and make some of the most horrible sounds I've ever heard. I had to sit at the table with his portable suction device just to help minimize the choking. It was awful. The feeding tube was so much more humane for my dad.
Spencers slave no more 3 months ago
Your love and respect for your Dad shines through whenever you speak about him, he was so lucky to have you.
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#3
I’m not a doctor, but I did take my very elderly Nana to the hospital after I showed up to her house and found her slurring her words and behaving very strange overall. Now, my Nana is a major hypochondriac and when she was admitted the first thing she told the doctor is that she believed she was experiencing the beginning signs of Parkinson’s.
It turned out that she had mixed up a bottle of non-alcoholic wine with a bottle of regular wine, had drank the entire bottle, and was completely hammered.
Jrog 3 months ago
The two things have completely different effects and Parkinson onset is very slow, developing over months if not years. The tremors and slurring patterns are very different. Intoxication causes very telling eye movement, that are totally absent with Parkinson; it would take any doctor just a glance at the patient's eyes or resting hands to differentiate drunkenness from disease.
Anthony Elmore 3 months ago
Given how much she drank, they probably smelled it before they got a chance to get a glance.
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A good rule of thumb to always, always, always follow is that if you notice changes in your body that you don’t understand, go see your doctor. ASAP! Medical professionals are experts in their field and can also evaluate your medical history in a way that you might not be able to.
Something else to consider is the reliability of the sources you’re using to diagnose yourself. If you’re scaring yourself with the info you found on random blogs, you might end up with misleading info that can then lead to real-life consequences for your health. Focus on reliable sources that value transparency, reliability, professionalism, and have a history of fact-based research.
#4
Serious answer: I try to ask my patients if they have googled their symptoms. It gives me a lot of information about what they are worried about. I then try to stay humble about their findings, and try to not be a jerk about that. Trust is not built by telling people they are stupid. However, it is hard to keep a straight face when a 50-year old male walks in and says “I think I have caught the Down’s syndrome”, or when a young woman thought she had testicular cancer.
Marnie 3 months ago
This is the reason that I had such a delayed diagnosis for Autism. I was bound and determined not to self-diagnose or suggest it to anyone because I thought doctors hated that. I just waited for someone else to suggest it. And finally a therapist did when I had practically forgotten about it. I was finally diagnosed professionally (by three separate people) two years later. And then a couple years after that, my life finally began.
Anthony Elmore 3 months ago
Reminds me of that one woman from American Horrors Story, the hotel season. She was trans, and at one mentions she has prostate cancer, noting something along the lines of "I'm going to be the first woman to die of prostate cancer." 😂
Geobugi🇰🇷🇰🇭 3 months ago
Oh dear, i could nit have kept my face straight. My favourite so far was a man who was convinced he has rabies because he does not like to drink water. Why he thought he needs to see a dermatologist for that is another mystery. I had to laugh, i could not help it and told him if he did not like water for the last 40 years it is likely not rabies, he would surely be dead by now. He felt much better then
#5
Just graduated medical school a few weeks ago.
The most frustrating are the concerned parents who buy into all sorts of myths regarding vaccines. Especially frustrating are the parents who refuse the HPV vaccine for their daughters (and sons), not based on any misguided health concerns, but instead due to beliefs that it will encourage their daughters to be promiscuous when they're older.
Hippopotamuses 3 months ago
I'm pretty sure the HPV vaccine doesn't cause the spontaneous opening boy's and girls' legs.
Alex Kennedy 3 months ago
But you know, their god gives women cervical cancer as punishment for promiscuity. If they can get a vaccine to prevent that, then nothing will prevent them from promiscuity. Good evangelical protestant women should only be getting HPV from their husbands!
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Mel in Georgia 3 months ago
This was a while ago, but I literally had a young doctor (woman) in a local practice in the southern US tell me, when I enquired about getting my then teenage daughter the HPV vaccine, that they did not do that there because it makes girls think that a vaccine will protect them from STDs, when actually, only abstinence will. My jaw about hit the floor. So ... my daughter could not possibly be r aped? The proper consequence for teenage s ex is cancer? The practice received some feedback from me ...
Anthony Elmore 3 months ago
That's some seriously fvcked-up logic. Like, revoke their medical license fvcked-up.
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Julia Mckinney 3 months ago
Frankly, I think the HPV vaccine is one of the best things for womens health to have been developed recently. At least in the top 10 or top 15.
Sue User 3 months ago
Book banning ? Drah shows? We must protect the children. School shooting ? Dont take away my rights to bear arms. Its the mentally ill ( other countries have mental illness but not as many school shootings ).
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Kristiina Männiste 3 months ago
Besides getting the HPV at 38 does STILL suck. I wish my parents would have gotten me the vaccine when it was free (its free for under 18 year olds in Estonia) 😭
Bartlet for world domination 3 months ago
But was it available 20 years ago?
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Daniele Stewart 3 months ago
My sister felt that way about birth control. Her teen had terrible period cramps. Just awful. Would not even consider putting her on birth control because it was horrible and would make her promiscuous. Poor thing suffered for so long.
AlithenewMC 3 months ago
My sister and I were teens when the HPV vaccine became available, but it wasn't free/routine at the time (I think it was quite expensive, actually- like $150 each). My mom said she'd pay for us to get it if we wanted it, but that to her, it not being free meant it wasn't necessary. I didn't get it, but I think my sister got it in her 20s. I will be making sure my kids get it when the time comes.
Nikki Sevven 3 months ago
My philosophy regarding vaccines: Is there a vaccination available for (insert disease here)? Yes? Good, give it to me.
Bartlet for world domination 3 months ago
To everyone who didn't get it: it's not too late (but maybe too expensive) - the HPV vaccine protects against many strains and I think six of those can cause cancer. You're unlikely to have them all.
#6
I'm an RN in pediatric neurology. We frequently have families who refuse to put their kids on seizure medications regardless of the EEG findings and the fact that they, you know, have seizures and stuff.
One family "did the research" and attempted to cure the child's epilepsy with essential oils, over the counter CBD oil, yoga, metal ion wristbands (to "balance" the brain). They even went as far as having the kid's dental fillings removed and replaced with a non-metallic filling.
There was the time that someone told us she didn't need medication because if you opened a fizzy can of Pepsi and put it under her nose she would come out of a seizure. If that didn't work, you could whisper "Reese's Pieces" in her ear and she would stop seizing.
My least favorite visits are from parents who refuse to believe that their kid is twitching because they have motor tics and likely Tourette's instead of epilepsy. Like, if it was a choice between Tourette's and epilepsy, you should choose Tourette's all day long. Why these parents are hell bent on giving their kids a diagnosis of epilepsy is beyond me.
I just don't even know anymore.
Kristiina Männiste 3 months ago
In Estonia a diagnosis of epilepsy can cause serious problems - you will not be allowed to drive most vehicles including personal cars, have a weapon license or do certain jobs. So patients who plan to have a life usually fight to have ANYTHING beside epilepsy on their file. Is it just our country?
Nadine Debard 3 months ago
It depends on the severity of epilepsy and whether it's well controlled by drùgs or not. A couple of friends are both epileptic, they work (on engines for him, with kids for her), they drive, their life is as normal as it can be. On the other hand, a friend's friend has a very severe and complicated epilepsy, he has seizures everyday and is considered having a heavy disability and not allowed to drive, use heavy machinery, be alone with young kids, etc.
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Zoe Vokes 3 months ago
Years ago I was Googling some symptoms I had (and I was certain wasn’t serious and was definitely not epilepsy). I Googled “flickering lights make me dizzy and nauseous” and one of the first links I saw was someone asking that on the epilepsy page. So they had already decided it was epilepsy and they were asking a very biased and supportive group to back up their self diagnosis. I however, after a tiny bit of reading self diagnosed as having flicker vertigo, which isn’t serious at all.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 3 months ago
It's probably got a social stigma due to that, yeah. My dad had Tourette's, but his was the twitching/muscle tic version, and he didn't have coprolalia XD Hilariously, complex vocal tics like coprolalia occur in only about 10% of patients with Tourette syndrome. I also wonder if people want to have their kids "have" epilepsy vs. Tourette syndrome is that epilepsy may feel like a "more treatable" illness - there are a lot of medications available these days for epileptics, and parents might want something that they can just "cure" with medication instead of something "untreatable" that their kid will have for their whole life (Tourette's.)
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There are lots of risks associated with diagnosing yourself. “A health professional can get it wrong too, but we have the knowledge and training to exclude red flags—that is serious conditions—and we try and have a safety net for patients to ensure nothing is missed," Melbourne-based GP Preeya Alexander explained to ABC News.
“I might, for instance, examine your sore abdomen, exclude appendicitis and other emergency causes, and suggest we review in 48 hours to ensure your symptoms are improving if it's the gastritis I suspect.”
#7
Another opposite story: when I was maybe 13-14 I randomly one day got really bad pain in my side that would come and go. I ignored it for a couple hours, but it eventually got so bad that I threw up. I Googled the symptoms and was pretty sure it was a kidney stone.
My mom took me to the clinic, and the doctor was completely useless. I brought up kidney stones, and she said that couldn't be it because I was too young. Instead she asked me multiple times if I was pregnant, even after I told her I was a virgin. She kept saying stuff like "this could be something really seriously life-threatening if you're pregnant, so it's important to tell the truth." Then sent me home with antibiotics.
That night I was crying in pain again so we went to the ER, and the doctor almost immediately diagnosed me with kidney stones. I'm still pissed off at the first doctor, I know she only ignored me because I was a teenage girl. I wish I could've rubbed it in her face.
Stardust she/her 3 months ago
Too young for kidney stones but just the right age to be the next Virgin Mary. Checks out
Linda 3 months ago
My sister went to the Er for left side pain radiating into her shoulder. They ruled out heart issues and told her it was just indigestion. I was in the room with her and suggested it was gallstones. ( I had the same issues before I had mine removed) The doctor said it was very unlikely because that is not how gallstones present themselves. They were going to release her and I again suggested they test for gallstones, doctor said “ why not, it’s a slow night “. Guess what ultrasound showed Gallstones!
Freddy M. (He/Him) 3 months ago
That's interesting, for me when I got a kidney stone it was a fairly quick onset with consistent pain for a few hours before it was passed rather than pain on and off for a while
Rick Murray 3 months ago
I'm surprised there's no recourse for a doctor basically failing at doing her job...?
#8
Not a doctor, but I had a coworker come into the office with this one. He was having nausea, fatigue, frequent urination and decided to WebMD it. We're chatting in the office one day and he says something like "Yeah, I've been feeling bad lately, and it sounds like gestational diabetes but I can't find any cases of men getting it." I just slowly lowered my head into my hand and asked him "Do you even know what gestational means?" He did not.
Karen Lyon 3 months ago
So he knew how to look up WebMD but not how to type a word he'd never heard or seen into a dictionary app? OY.
Stardust she/her 3 months ago
Reminds me of that one image talking about false positives and false negatives where the doctor told a guy that he was pregnant and told an obviously pregnant woman that she wasn’t pregnant
#9
I had a UTI, because I had the symptoms and Googled it. Day of doctor appointment, it was just a regular check up. But I asked for a UTI test since I explained how I was feeling.
Convo went like this:
"could it be possible to request a UTI testing? I've been feeling the symptoms of burning when I pee and some discomfort-"
"how do you feel now? Any pain?"
"well no not at the -"
"well if you did have a UTI the symptoms wouldn't go away you are fine"
2 or so days later I get a full blown kidney infection from a, who would have guessed, a UTI. sent out a complaint. I always ask for a test if I am suspicious of anything and I have them document it if they say no from now on. That was a horrible experience.
Geoffrey Scott 3 months ago
My grandsons pediatrician refused to test him for strep."we don't test for strep in kids under 3"..well, my daughter got a call from them after he was in PICU at CS Mott (U of M) with toxic shock/sepsis. His heart capacity was 15% when he arrived. They were SO concerned then.
BrownEyedGrrl 3 months ago
They don't test for strep for kids under 3?!? WTAF?? Strep can be extremely dangerous!
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Debby Keir 3 months ago
If you have a UTI, take a sample to the doctors with you. It may not be a sterile sample, so they may have to ask for another one, but with many UTI's the sample will be cloudy, possibly a few clumps or if it's an upper UTI sometimes visible blood. Even if blood isn't visible to the naked eye, it can change the colour of the wee. Most 'infected' samples can be seen by the naked eye. If the doc doen't recognise it, give it to the nurse who certainly will.
Geobugi🇰🇷🇰🇭 3 months ago
I would actually recommend giving it to the nurse in any case since they will look at it, see the issue and are likely more sucessful to push the matter with the doctor than the patient 😉
Load More Replies...When is the last time that you Googled your symptoms, Pandas? Did what you found needlessly scare you, or were you able to accurately diagnose yourself before speaking with your doctor?
If there are any medical professionals here today (hi, how are you?), how often do you deal with patients who misdiagnose themselves? Have you ever misdiagnosed a patient before?
#10
Like a couple people have posted I've been on the opposite side of this, but i think it still fits. Back when i was a teenager i was a really big fan of Humon comics, and she posted a PSA about a condition she was recently diagnosed with called Polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS and listed the symptoms. Aside from the ones i couldn't account for like fertility problems, i had nearly all of them, the biggest one being i hadn't had my period in over a year. My parents took me to the doctor who immediately booked me for an ultrasound. Turns out i really did have it and my doctor commended me for coming to him about it.
I'm very thankful to Humon for posting that PSA, i never would have known otherwise that what i was experiencing wasn't normal.
Heir of Durin 3 months ago
Glad the doc listened! I’ve heard my cases where PCOS takes ages to diagnose bc doctors don’t take the symptoms seriously.
Rick Murray 3 months ago
According to my mom, far too many male doctors will lean towards "she's hormonal / anxious / her time of the month" when it comes to women with medical issues that are just a little out of the usual. She loathed going to male doctors. And me? I just loathe going to doctors, period.
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Jill Jones 3 months ago
I went years without a period, unable to lose weight, skin discoloration, and all. My sister read a article in a magazine and showed me. I showed the doctor and sure enough PCOS.
BookFanatic 3 months ago
PCOS is a b***h. Took my best friend years to get a proper diagnosis and the help she needed.
#11
My sister is a paramedic. One day she and a team are sent to house. A man had called about a broken arm. I don't know how he broke his arm the first time, but had read somewhere on the internet that if he just kept breaking his arm than the pain would go away. He had tried around three times by jumping up and smashing down his weight on his arm, and it shocked everyone that he proceeded after the first time. In the end the guy had to get four surgeries on his arm, but my sister isn't sure if it wasn't eventually amputated or not, since she was pretty sure by the look of it and the x-rays that it would have to be.
Anthony Elmore 3 months ago
I mean, he wasn't wrong. If they have to amputate them the pain will definitely go away. Wait, no. Phantom limb syndrome. It might still not make the pain go away.
Load More Replies... Debby Keir 3 months ago
A misunderstanding - if you have pain somewhere, you might be able to 'relieve' it by hurting another area of your body - displacement/distraction type idea. However, when the cause of the pain is so obvious as to be a broken bone, then go to the ER and hopefully have pain relief, cos you'd really have to damage another part of your body (and be in awful pain in the new area) to displace the pain of a fracture.
#12
Followup on a recovering triple bypass patient. Was giving the general "You should try to eat more healthily, watch your weight, take moderate exercise, avoid smoking" sort of thing.
Resulted in a five minute harangue about "Nanny State Doctors telling us what to do and denying us simply pleasures. Healthy at any size, internet says so, just bad luck, stop interfering."
I appreciate that there is a time and a place for (unsolicited) lifestyle advice relating to cardiac health, but an appointment with your physician to discuss your recovery from a coronary artery bypass **IS** that time and that place.
Some people are beyond help.
Rick Murray 3 months ago
Guy I know was a heavy smoker. Had a bypass. Doctor said "give up, your heart won't cope with this". For a sixth month checkup he went in reeking. Doctor was upset. Guy says "I'm trying, it's only two packs a day now". Doctor loses it and says he's made a note of that, and should there be any problems with the bypass, they won't be fixed because "you're beyond help". So... you're saying that if something happens I'll die? "I'm surprised you're not already dead". Guy leaves goes home, pale enough to be cosplaying a ghost. Hasn't smoked a single one since. He went though the withdrawal stage, but stuck with it as feeling awful was better than possibly being dead.
#13
Doesn't exactly fit the web and thing but...
A woman came to the ED complaining of chest pains. When the doctor asked if had tried to treat the symptoms she said she ate a bowl of oatmeal.
The doc was a bit confused and, figuring it doesn't matter why she did that, he continued with the exam and eventually it was determined she wasn't having any kind of cardiac event.
I had to explain to him later she ate oatmeal because she saw a commercial that said oatmeal can lower cholesterol. She thought she was having a heart attack so she reacted by having a bowl of oatmeal.
Mel in Georgia 3 months ago
Aww, bless her heart. Yes, regularly eating oatmeal is good for your heart. It will not treat a heart attack.
Anthony Elmore 3 months ago (edited)
I'm guessing it applies to cheerios, too. Probably would still grab a bowl. I may be having a heart attack, but that's no reason I shouldn't feel good about lowering my cholesterol.
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Papa 3 months ago
That reminds me of a friend and former co-worker who had high cholesterol. He didn't want to take medication for it, so he started eating a bowl of oatmeal at morning break. After a while he switched to oatmeal cookies (I've known him for over 50 years, and can't believe he thought that would work). Anyway, now he's taking a pill for it.
#14
Like many others commenting on this post, I had the reverse happen. I was having debilitating stomach pain and vomiting about 4 years ago. I couldn't keep anything down and I lost 20 pounds. A gastroenterologist told me I had acid reflux. My mom, however, went online and suspected I had Crohns Disease. A visit to a second gastroenterologist confirmed this, and I had to have about 8 inches of my small intestine taken out a month later.
Nadine Debard 3 months ago
Anything long-term and gut related should be advised at a specialist's, with endoscopy performed if in doubt.
Brandi VanSteenwyk 3 months ago
Experience working in the Colon & Rectal Surgery arena here... I have learned that any gut abnormality that impedes regular activity should never be ignored. Any new or odd happenings, changes in bowel movements (timing, texture, color, etc) that cannot be directly attributed to a recent change in diet should be referred to a specialist for diagnostic testing and treatment. Too many young people these days being diagnosed with rectal, a**l and colon cancers and insurance companies are still reluctant to cover screening colonoscopies and/or EGD procedures based solely on the age of the member. These are the instances when people MUST advocate for their health and not bow down to the negative.
#15
I have a spin on this topic...
I had a searing pain through the left side of my chest. It was excruciating. It started as a dull pain but quickly felt like my chest was on fire. I thought I might be having a heart attack.
While lying in bed attempting to sleep and literally crying from pain, I googled my symptoms. My self diagnosis: shingles.
The next morning I went to the doctor and told him what I thought the problem was. To my surprise, he opened a web browser and went into EXACTLY the same site I'd looked at the night before. And sure enough: shingles.
BookFanatic 3 months ago
My doctor admits when she needs to look something up. Being a librarian, I always ask her (mostly joking) if she's citing credible sources. Yes, I'm a bit of a PITA patient.
CP 3 months ago (edited)
Why? Do you think they have everything memorized? I am an engineer and not a doctor and use the internet to solve problems when needed. Should I lose my job? May be the doctor should have ignored patient instead. I think a good doctor listens.
Load More Replies... Nadine Debard 3 months ago
I thought shingles would burn on the skin surface, not irradiating through the chest. And I'm shocked they slept on excruciating chest pain. Many people don't wake up from this.
Debby Keir 3 months ago
Shingles erupts on the line of a nerve so *can* feel as though an entire area is on fire. Seriously on fire.
Load More Replies... Brandi VanSteenwyk 3 months ago
My sympathies to the OP. Shingles can be extremely painful and incapacitating but often overlooked as it displays at skin level if at all visible. Thus, people think that there is no possible way that the pain can be internal. But the excruciating pain would dictate otherwise.
#16
Late to the party but may as well add this:
I was working with a physician and we went to see a patient who insisted that he had tiny fibers and worms/ bugs coming out from his skin. He had extensively googled his symptoms, self diagnosed with Morgellons disease, and had even gone as far as to join a support group. He was extremely articulate and intelligent, but when confronted with the fact that Morgellon’s disease is a delusional parasitosis, he acknowledged this but couldn’t grasp that a delusion would mean that he is perceiving something that is not actually there (delusion = fixed, false belief).
Grace Sssssss 3 months ago
The OP is trying to say that Morgellons isn't a real disease. It's a hallucination. (I reserve judgment).
Load More Replies... cnn57t8278 3 months ago
To clarify: patient was likely right, he had Morgellon’s Disease. Unfortunately, that meant that the bugs, etc he was feeling weren’t real. Morgellon’s is a mental health disorder. I’ve worked with several people with this, and unless they take their antipsychotic, they do not get better (and in fact will get far worse, as they scratch up their skin to “get the bugs out” and can cause serious infection). I’m glad he was in a support group.
Rick Murray 3 months ago
Quite often I get a sensation like there's a spider ambling along my arm. It used to freak me out as a child, but these days I just look at my arm and it's, well, an arm shaped fleshy appendage. Close my eyes, totally a spider there. Open them, nothing. I don't know why this happens, I wonder if it's my skin malfunctioning or my brain, but feeling like there's a bug walking around on me someplace is just "one of those things".
Rick Murray 3 months ago
[spoiler: those are the times when the cloaking device of the alien parasite that is controlling me glitches so I can sense the presence of the parasite but I can't see it as it has hijacked my sight]
Load More Replies... Debby Keir 3 months ago
means - so, did he actually have Morgellons disease?
Load More Replies... #17
This will make my friend sound stupid, and she really isn't. When she had her first baby and was in that woozy/sleepless/new mom phase, she took the baby for her checkup and completely misheard when the doctor told her the baby had eczema. She got home and started Googling what she thought he had said, and called me in a panic, saying, "The doctor said the baby has emphysema!"
Why, that infant never smoked a day in her life . . .
Spencers slave no more 3 months ago
This is why many developed, and some developing, countries do not expect new Mums to go to the doctor. We have midwives and District/Community Nurses that do home visits as soon as Mum and baby go home. My youngest was a home birth, by choice, born just after 4am with 2 Midwives. They didn't leave us until 8am. Another Midwife visited at noon then 5pm. Then twice daily until my son was 5 days old, after which we had daily District Nurse visits for another 10 days. Just knowing someone was at the end of the phone was comforting. Universal Healthcare is awesome.
Hippopotamuses 3 months ago
Oh. For God's sake. If you don't know, ask! Doctors and nurses are professionals. If someone doesn't fully understand something, they're there to help.
Alex Kennedy 3 months ago
Sometimes people who don’t understand something don’t understand than they don’t understand it. As professionals, we should take pains to try to make sure we are understood.
Load More Replies... #18
Nurse here. I have a lot of WebMD stories, but my favorite is the 57 year old woman who came in for routine visit and a request to try a new medication that she saw advertised on TV. Her visit was for a complaint of increasing urinary retention over the past three weeks. Most urinary retention in women is due to a mild bladder infection... very common in women that age. When we asked her about the medication she wanted to try, she said the TV ad said it was for urinary retention, so we listened. She took out a scrap of paper with the name of the medication scribbled on it: Flomax. Well. That's not what'll work for her and the doctor quickly said he could not prescribe it for her. She was a little offended at the refusal and asked why not. The doctor said, "Flomax is for benign prostatic hypertrophy and you don't need it." She demanded an explanation. The doctor bluntly explained, "This is treating an enlarged prostate. Women don't have prostates.".
Spannidandoolar 3 months ago
The fact that medication is advertised on television in other countries is still insane to me.
Snackmachine 3 months ago
It's used for dilation of urinary structures. Sometimes given to help pass a stone.
#19
The other day I had a guy come into the ED in tears because he had wrist pain and the nurse at his work's occupational health looked it up and told him he has multiple sclerosis.
angelmomoffour62 3 months ago
Occupational health nurse could probably be going for her nursing degree.
Debby Keir 3 months ago
I was an OH nurse for 35+ years. Don't know which country this is, but you need to be an RN and do a masters in Occupational Health - perhaps he asked a first aider. Wrist pain and work - first thing I'd wonder in office/engineering/outdoor work is tenosynovitis if no evidence of injury.
Load More Replies... Nadine Debard 3 months ago
MS... You have to discard at least 10 other diagnoses before concluding "MS".
Hippopotamuses 3 months ago (edited)
A real nurse, ie. a registered nurse, would know better than to consult Dr. Google.
Debby Keir 3 months ago
Yes. If serious they refer on, but can treat many conditions.
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#20
Not a doctor, but throughout my childhood and teen years I had these weird episodes where I would suddenly have really bad Deja Vu and get very nauseous. For the next few hours afterward I would feel like I was in a fog and my memory would be bad. Eventually I googled my symptoms and learned they might be minor epileptic seizures.
I went to a doctor and he laughed it off and told me it was probably just having panic attacks related to the normal emotions of being a teenager. I was so sure he was wrong that I opted to go get an EEG - turns out I have a mild form of epilepsy and google was totally right.
Karen Lyon 3 months ago
I was an aide for K-4 (private school) where we had a little girl that could be a little "spacey". When she was in Kindergarten, we just wrote it off to her being five years old. In first grade, though, the teacher and I noticed there were times when she didn't appear to be aware of what was going on. Not for long, just for a few minutes that it seemed she was staring into space and utterly oblivious. There were also days where she couldn't focus, and yet there were days when she was totally into school and just "on it". Her parents asked us if we'd noticed it, and when we said yes, they took her to the doctor. He diagnosed it as being absence seizures. I have always been so glad we noticed it when she was 6 so it could be dealt with.
#21
For a stretch towards the end of high school and beginning of college I repeatedly had sinus infections. We're talking one every 3 to 4 months for the span of about 2 years. The nurse I got initially told me not to believe everything I read on the internet and to stop googling my symptoms just for my doctor to come in about 2 minutes later and say "so you have another sinus infection?" knowing I was going to be right without her checking.
Mel in Georgia 3 months ago
Same with bladder infections. If you've had it once, you know what it feels like. Just let me call and get a prescription for it! (Thank goodness, it's been a while since I've had one!)
Tyranamar Seuss 3 months ago
I had horrible UTI symptoms that wouldn't go away. Ends up it was not a UTI but me trying to pee out a kidney stone.
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Bamamom2boys 3 months ago
I kept having repeat sinus infections. I got referred to ENT doc who also tests for allergies. Turns out that I'm very allergic to my four cats. Now, I just take allergy meds and shots. Still have the cats.
bkwrm636 3 months ago
Something similar happened to me in graduate school. I went to student health one day with an increasingly severe cough, difficulty breathing and ear pain. I was probably ~35 and taking classes for my doctoral degree (less inclined to want to skip at that stage) but ended up seeing a triage nurse who told me to go home and quit wasting the doctor's time just to get a note excusing me from class. It was clear that she wasn't going to let me see an MD, so I went home, only to return the next day because my breathing was even worse and I felt like someone was sticking ice picks into my ears. Same triage nurse, about to send me home again, when the doc walked by, looked at me and could apparently hear me wheeze from across the room. I was in a room on a breathing treatment before I knew what was happening and the nurse was getting chewed out in a big way for turning me away the day before. Most of the nurses in Student Health were fantastic, just not that one.
#22
Not a doctor but worked at a hospital for a while. One of our doctors came back to the nurses station laughing because someone was fully convinced they were diabetic because they were "craving" water and webmd said that makes them diabetic. Turns out they are just human and require it to live..
geezeronthehill 3 months ago
One of the symptoms of type 2 diabetes is excessive thirst. Good to have that checked out.
Anthony Elmore 3 months ago (edited)
But for the record, it totally does make you extremely thirsty if you have it and your BG is too high. When I went in, I had been throwing up everything, so no water intake and constant expulsion of body liquids through urination and vomiting. When they admit you, you are not allowed to drink even water while they try to get your body's chemicals back in balance. Usually have to wait a few good hours before they're willing to let you drink anything. What followed was a series of cramps that I am not liable to ever forget. It was only after they put me on a saline drip and let me drink water again that the pain actually stopped. Until this point, I didn't know serious dehydration makes you cramp up. Apparently, it does. Thoroughly. Cramps were added to the mental list I keep of medical symptoms I won't poke fun at. S**t hurts.
#23
Not Web MD, but bloggers....
My husband just graduated Med school and during his pediatrics rotation he ran into morbidly obese 10 year old girl who was showing very clear signs of type 2 diabetes. He and his supervising physican calmly explained to the mom (who was well over 400lbs herself) how serious this was. The mom pulled out some card written by a blogger how the questions they were asking were showing clear anti-fat bias. She quoted things about statatisics and genetics that were absolute nonsense and she got it all from HAES (health at any size) bloggers. she tore both my husband and the MD a new on on Health Grades so that really pissed me off so I looked into the blogger she quoted and the blogger is such a clear liar it's not even funny. She doesn't understand the first thing about stats or science despite claiming advanced degrees, she claims to be a world record marathon holder at 300lbs and an ironman Triathelte. It was so ludicrous and as dangerous as anti-vaxx and as silly as flat earth.
Mel in Georgia 3 months ago
You don't have to be obese to have terrible habits that put your health at risk, but being obese (not just overweight) is proven to have many health risks. It's not being judgmental to say this any more than it is to say smoking has many health risks.
Anthony Elmore 3 months ago (edited)
You know, I remember being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and thinking "Did I do this to myself?" (No, type 1 is more of an auto-immune disorder destroying your pancreas). It was exceedingly painful when I considered the possibility. Somehow it feels even worse to know that the 10-year-old wasn't the one who gave herself diabetes in this case.
Arenite 3 months ago
Ask yourself how 18 month old babies diagnosed with Type 1 did it to themselves
Load More Replies... #24
Worst self diagnosis as a doctor. I was in a rough part of training, not sleeping, working 90+ hr weeks, and losing weight. I crawl into bed after 40 hrs awake at the hospital, too tired to eat. I notice my laptop on my lap is twitching. I realize I can feel my abdominal aorta pulsing. I freak out thinking I have an aneurysm (0 risk factors). Then realize I am hungry and tired and thinner than I have ever been.
#25
Paramedic student here. Last week we had a call for an imminent delivery. Pt started having abdominal pain that would last a little bit and stop. And about 2-3 min later would start again. She googled her symptoms and everything she found was saying she was in labor. She called her husband and he told her to call 911. We walked in as the baby was crowning. She had no idea she was pregnant.
Anthony Elmore 3 months ago
Still blows my mind. I don't envy the shock realization.
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HangryHangryHippo 3 months ago
I met one of these! A friend's roommate. I came to visit my friend, her roommate (they were living together for 4+ years at that time, I saw her several times before then) was mopping the floor. We talked, shared a snack. Nothing out of place. 2 days later my friend called me saying they had to rush to the hospital: the roommate was feeling like c**p, ended up being contractions! She had a healthy baby girl. It absolutely blew my mind!
#26
I had a patient come into the clinic who insisted she had radiculopathy because her feet were numb and painful, and she wanted a surgical evaluation. I asked her why she felt that way, the only thing she could say was she looked it up on the internet. She was very aggressive about it, saying she needed an MRI and she was mad that her PCP didn't order one. I explained to her what diabetic neuropathy was, and she insisted it wasn't that. I told her that the fact that she had diabetes, the stocking glove pattern, and the fact that at least two doctors at her PCP office said this was diabetic neuropathy meant she didn't need further workup for back surgery. She threw a fit.
Sue User 3 months ago
Opposite here. Have stocking- glove neuropathy due to auto- immune, had ER twice ask me " you sure it isnt from diabetes ?".
Anthony Elmore 3 months ago (edited)
Look, Descartes released several meditations on why we can't truly know most things, so in the grand cosmic scale I guess, no, I'm not sure it isn't from diabetes. But so long as I am not diabetic, no evil god or wrongdoer bent on deceiving me will ever be able to convince me that I am. I produce insulin, therefor I am not... Diabetic in this case.
Load More Replies... #27
I recently dealt with a bilateral pulmonary embolism and went to the er with chest pain and shortness of breath.
At first, it wasn't so bad and i really thought it was just indigestion because not 5 hours before it started, i was at a concert, drinking, and eating edibles and then eating tons of fried food at a diner.
The pain ultimately went on for 14 hours and was very specific, it got 10x worse if i tried to lay down, and was somewhat alleviated if i sat and leaned forward.
So after getting nowhere googling "chest pain" i finally googled that leaning forward bit , and "Pericarditis " was the result.
So by the time i got to the er, instead of saying "hey doc, i asked Dr. Google and this is what I'm diagnosing myself with because I'm cleary smarter than you"...i just explained the details of my pain exactly as they were.
He at first responded, "well, sounds like a blood clot, but you dont smoke cigarettes and youre fairly young [29] so i sincerely doubt that, probably pericarditis " and i just looked over at my boyfriend and smirked and then texted my mom and was like " yea he totally thinks it's that peri whatever thing, I'm basicallya doctor now"
SCORE.
Anyways, turned out to have 2 blood clots, 1 in each lung and i was a ticking time bomb apparently, lucky to be alive and stupid for waiting 14 hours to go to the er.
Anthony Elmore 3 months ago
I'm slowly beginning to believe that Hugo just actually has reading difficulties, which is why he needs the grammar and spelling to be perfect in order to tell what's going on. Keep up the good work, buddy! You'll get there eventually.
Load More Replies... #28
A mother who was convinced her son had familial Mediterranean fever. He did not. She was repeatedly told this, nicely of course. Yes the child had had genetic testing by the time I saw the family. Oh, but a small percentage aren’t detected by the testing!
Thing is, her kid was fine. Healthy kid. Mom was just obsessed with this diagnosis. (Not exactly Munchausen by proxy, she never did anything to him to make him sick, or subjected him to a lot of unnecessary procedures. But on that spectrum.).
highwaycrossingfrog 3 months ago
The syndrome is spelt Munchausen. Münchhausen was the baron upon whom the book Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia was based. The syndrome was named after the book.
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#29
I've been on the opposite end of this when I was in college and wasn't felling well. Looked up my symptoms and came to the conclusion I had strep throat.
Went to the free clinic on campus and told the doctor there that I think I had strep. She chuckles and says, "Well, we'll see about that." So, she does the test on me and later comes back and says, "Wow, you were actually right!"
I guess being on campus she had a lot of people coming in saying that when really it was nothing more than a sore throat.
Mel in Georgia 3 months ago
At least it's easy to test for. Had strep tongue once, which was a first for the doc!
Nadine Debard 3 months ago
The contrary happened to me once. Dr certain about strepto because of many signs she could see, and I told her I'm pretty sure it will be negative because it doesn't feel like a bacterial infection. She brushed it off saying the symptoms were pretty clear. Test was negative. She laughed and told me she would have bet it was a strepto, and that she learnt something interesting that day. She's a good doctor.
#30
Not a doctor but worked in emergency services. Guy went to bed after convincing himself that his chest pain was indigestion. Took some antacid and climbed in bed.
Wife was in tears the next morning when he was no longer alive.
Karen Lyon 3 months ago
Even with medical professionals. My late Mom had a hard attack 18 years ago. Someone who was there in the house at the time was the person who called 911. Mom insisted it was just gastrointestinal, and that she needed was to use the bathroom (another thing heart attack victims tend to do/think. The cousin of a friend of mine was found after he passed away, in his bathroom, after a heart attack.) Mom at that point was a retired RN who'd worked for 42 year. If anyone else in the family (like our Dad), she'd have read us the riot act.
Load More Replies... Kristiina Männiste 3 months ago
Happened to my grandpa. But he had been preparing mushrooms so we still called the emergency for him because we were worried about mushroom poisoning. Nope heart attack -and a bad one. Unfortunately a heart surgeon would have been available only 200km away and he was not fit for transport. He hanged on ALMOST until the heart surgeon would have arrived in our town. Well at least he was not alone and was in our local hospital. Nurses said he would joke with them until the last.
Mel in Georgia 3 months ago
The opposite also happens a lot. My husband was convinced he was having a heart attack. It was indigestion, specifically acid reflux. But it's better to get it checked out to eliminate the possibility!
TheWickedOne 3 months ago
This happened to my cousin's bf.... took something for the indigestion and laid down and never woke up, she came home and found him... 30 years old, nuts.
#31
One time I accompanied my wife to the doctor's office. She had looked up her symptoms on the internet and diagnosed her calf pain, a strained muscle in hindsight, as peripheral artery disease. The doctor was not in the least sympathetic or tactful in explaining that PAD doesn't appear suddenly during an exercise session.
She felt humiliated, and immediately changed to a more sympathetic doctor. Twenty years on, the self diagnosis errors continue.
Geoffrey Scott 3 months ago
My wife once was dissatisfied with the afghan she was making, so she pulled it apart. It was quite large. The next day she said, "I need to go to urgent care".."Why?".."something is wrong with my chest and arms". ..."Think, what did you do yesterday?".."umm..nothing I can think of".."do you recall pullling apart that afghan?"..."OHHH YEAHHH!". Cause and effect dear.
#32
I had a woman come to see me because of abdominal pain. I spent a good 10-15 minutes of asking her questions to get a better understanding of what could be happening. I ended up ordering an ultrasound to assess for an ovarian cysts and some blood work. As she’s leaving she goes “are you doing lab work for my prostate?” I had to bite my tongue so as not to laugh and said “no, because you’re not a male and you don’t have one.” She just said “oh.” and left.
Spoiler alert - she had an ovarian cyst.
Justanotherpanda 3 months ago
Here's the kicker, some woman actually do have a prostate and some men actually do have a uterus. Hermaphrodites
#33
The person who refused to tell me what symptoms they were actually having xD they had decided that they had pneumonia and any time I tried to ask what they were experiencing they just said "I have pneumonia! Don't you know what the symptoms of pneumonia are?!" Pretty sure they looked it up, decided they had, but couldn't remember the exact symptoms...
Debby Keir 3 months ago
You would NEVER give codeine cough mixture to someone with pneumonia. You need to cough and get the phlegm out, so would be prescribed an expectorant mixture. Codeine depresses the cough mechanism. It's the colour of what you cough out that leads to the initial diagnosis.
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#34
*Not a doctor but,* my boyfriend woke me up at 4am saying he had appendicitis and needed to be taken to the ER. It had to be the hospital, no urgent care, because his appendix could burst anytime. He gathered that all from googling.
We walked into the ER, the guy at the check-in desk took on look at him clutching his abdomen and said “how long has that kidney stone been bothering you?” Bf swears no, no, I have appendicitis for sure.
One CAT scan and a few thousand dollars later and yes, it’s was a kidney stone, they sent him home to pass it.
Mel in Georgia 3 months ago
Both can be extremely painful and undiagnosed appendicitis can lead to terrible outcomes. Get the CAT scan.
Pandemonium 3 months ago
I went to the ER after calling my health plan's advice line. I told the doc, "WebMD says it's either appendicitis or an ectopic pregnancy. >>perfectly timed pause<<. I really hope it's appendicitis." (I'm a dude, no fallopian tubes here.) Doc did not even crack a smile. I think he was tired of people googling their symptoms, but I think an informed patient is a better patient. It's not like I broke out my Swiss Army knife and started an extraction. (Ultrasound confirmed appendicitis and they admitted me for an appendectomy.)
Nikki Sevven 3 months ago
I had an emergency appendectomy during the pandemic. My only symptom was pain near my navel, which I never would have thought was my appendix.
#35
Not a doctor but.....I developed a rash on my lower back that began to blister the day after the rash appeared. I googled and came back with shingles. I went to the doctor, told them it was shingles and I got an eye roll and the entire, "You're too young for shingles (21)" and "You would be in so much pain if it was." I didn't even get my shirt up all the way before the doctor JUMPED up and said, "Nevermind, that's shingles." The doctor didn't believe me because I have never had the chicken pox as a kid.
P.S. I had absolutely no pain with my shingles. Had I not felt the blistering on my back while taking a shower, I wouldn't of known.
Sportsgal 3 months ago
Man, you were lucky! I had shingles at 16, and it felt like I was on fire and being electrocuted!!😵
Karen Lyon 3 months ago
Right? One of my very best friends, who was also my roommate for a few years, got shingles at about the same age as this poster. She came in one morning and told me her back was painful and asked if I could see anything. As the daughter of a nurse and someone who'd babysat my fair share of little ones, I knew right away that it looked just like chicken pox, I just couldn't believe it. I thought only little kids got that.Her doctor was shocked too. She got it so bad, it covered her back, spread over her chest and up her neck. Her attitude was, if it went all the way up to her face, she was going to lose her mind. She was in so much pain, even wearing pjs or just having a sheet to cover her up had her in tears. We still remembered how awful that was 40 years later. When my doctor told me I needed to get the shingles vaccine, I did it as soon as I could, and did not care that my arm hurt or that after the second shot I was sleepy as heck. Beats what my bestie went through, hands down.
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Jim Dixon 3 months ago
I was forty, and had no pain either. Doctor had much the same reaction, most cases don't come on that early in life, especially with no pain at all, mine was just very itchy. Eventually it cleared up, and I continued my life!
Papa 3 months ago
I had it when I was in my 40's. I am 64 now, and so far that has been the only time.
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Chocolate llama 3 months ago
I had shingles when I was 8, so I guess you're never too young. And same, I also didn't feel any pain with it
Nadine Debard 3 months ago
I know a man who got shingles at 24, it was so bad, so painful and it last so long that the doctor prescribed an antiviral (usually only for elderly and immune-compromised people). He was tired because of hard work and just had flu.
Nikki Sevven 3 months ago
My daughter had shingles at 19. She was just too old to benefit from the chicken pox vaccine, and she had a particularly horrid case.
Snackmachine 3 months ago
I also had little to no pain. I actually thought it was a spider bite at first
Brandi VanSteenwyk 3 months ago
My 11 year-old daughter had a shingles outbreak on her lower tummy area. At the time I had no idea WTF shingles were and couldn't comprehend the symptoms (fire inside, burning, sore etc) she was describing to me. You had better believe that I got my shingles vaccine when my age permitted.
Papa 3 months ago (edited)
I gave you an up vote because I agree with the "wouldn't have" part, but where did you get the idea that chicken pox protects you from shingles? The chicken pox virus is what causes shingles (it is usually dormant, but can flare up as shingles), which is why I'm skeptical about OP saying she had shingles but had never had chicken pox.
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#36
Patient here, was on recovery from gallbladder removal and began having a sharp pain in my right calf muscle. Of course I googled it!
I found tons of info about blood clots post surgery and decided to see my doctor. Had an EKG performed in the office, was sent to the hospital for a d-dimer and veinous doppler. During the veinous Doppler the results from the d-dimer came back positive.
Went from having two blood clots just behind my right knee to going through a CT scan and being told I had pulmonary embolism. Wasn't allowed to walk anywhere.
Took Xarelto for 6 weeks and all the clots dissolved.
Thinking back on it, I remember feeling so silly even bringing up the fact that I had googled my symptoms and telling my doctor I had done so.
Glad I did!
#37
Opposite sort of happened to me but I had some sores that were itchy and spreading across my stomach. Naturally I looked up what it could be and pulled up a page on various spiders and what their bites look like. Thinking that I probably shouldn't use the Internet to self-diagnose, I made the decision to see my doctor.
While I was in the waiting room after checking in, noting the reason for my visit, I had to go to the bathroom which was past the doctor's office. I glanced in and noticed he was looking up something on the Internet and lo and behold it happened to be the exact same page on spider bites I was looking at myself. Shouldn't have to explain what his diagnosis for me was soon after.
To be fair, in the end they weren't bites but rather a pretty rare skin disease I happened to contract. Doctors said it's often confused for bug bites.
Mel in Georgia 3 months ago
People love to think unexplained rashes and bumps that swell are spider bites. Spider bites really aren't all that common.
Papa 3 months ago
When my daughter was in college she had what she thought was a rash, mostly on her arms and legs, if I remember correctly. She blamed it on stress until one of her friends saw it and told her she had bed bugs. The friend was correct. That was a fun time.
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Historyharlot93 3 months ago
I had a strange skin rash across my breasts, it was peeling at the edges. I was prescribed cream but it didn’t go away. My dermatologist couldn’t figure it out. He brought in this huge medical book full of pictures trying to match up my rash. No luck. It was a GOK—“God Only Knows”. It cleared up on its own in time thankfully.
#38
This is somewhat related but I'm not a Dr.
The only time I self prescribed was when I thought I had rhabdomyolysis. Never had even heard of it before.
I woke up that morning feeling like I’d been in a car accident (had done a very heavy workout 2 days prior) and literally wondered why it was the worst soreness of my life. I didn't start doing any webmd stuff though until after I went to the bathroom and realised my urine looked like coca cola.
What's funny is even going to the er I was thinking, "this is a total waste of time and I'm going to be laughed at by a Dr today for being an idiot who looks up stuff online."
Then I spent the next 5 days in the hospital and went through 70 IV bags before I was finally discharged.
Stardust she/her 3 months ago
I don’t think most doctors would laugh at someone worried about their Coca Cola urine 😬
Anthony Elmore 3 months ago (edited)
This applies to both the coloration and sugar content, as well. Actually, doubly so on the sugar content, since that probably means you have diabetes, but more importantly it means you know that your urine tastes sugary.
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#39
NAD but
My daughter was suffering from amazing bruises all over her body that you could just about watch spread. It was very scary. The pain she was in was excruciating and she couldn't move her limbs.
We started sunny doctor after doctor who said it was nothing, or passed it off as growing pains.
Eventually our sister in law, who was a nursing student, suggested vasculitis. We told the doctor what we thought, and he agreed when we took her into the ER. We successfully self diagnosed with internet help.
Soon enough, the tending doctor was bringing in other doctors to quiz them one after another.
My only thought was, "I'm not paying for this one.".
#40
I went to an ENT doctor after a couple of weeks of getting world-spinningly dizzy - literally not knowing which way was up for a few seconds at a time - when I moved my head in certain ways. It was so bad it would wake me up when I moved in my sleep. I was nauseous all the time and started to get brain fog and become irritable and confused at work as a result of constantly feeling like I was falling over.
I looked it up and it sounded just like something called BPPV - benign paroxsymal positional vertigo, I think. It's where (salt?) crystals form in your ear canal and start messing with your balance. It's easily diagnosed by moving the patient into a position that triggers it, and for something like 90% of people, easily cured by moving them into a different position to dislodge the crystals. I read online though that people can make it worse by attempting these positions themselves so I decided to go to a doctor to do it.
The doctor carried out the diagnostic test wrong (didn't tip my head back when laying me down), so failed to trigger it and declared no BPPV despite me triggering it myself when I got up off the bed. He gave me a leaflet for labyrinthitis and said it would clear itself up but might be another month or so.
I got home, had my husband carry out the diagnostic test properly, confirmed it, then had him carry out the treatment procedure. Immediately cured.
Then again this is the same guy who diagnosed a perforated eardrum but told me I didn't need to get it fixed or take any precautions when swimming or anything. Now I am half deaf from glue ear following a nasty middle ear infection.
#41
Not a doctor, but between coworkers and the internet had to basically self diagnose that I had gall bladder issues.
(Had seen a male doctor first who basically said I had a stomach bug after asking me if I was sure I wasn't pregnant and I need to lose weight. When I went back later and saw a female, she sent me for an ultrasound and turned out I needed the gall bladder removed.).
Learner Panda 3 months ago
I had my gall bladder removed after calling an ambulance for severe pain. Although I was in pain, I didn't look ill. Blood pressure of 200 over 179 was very convincing.
#42
I've worked in a pharmacy on and off for the last ten years so I've heard quite a few doctors stories about patients.
One I recall is about a patient who was suffering from severe migraines and was adamant they had a blood clot in the brain. Quite an assumption to make, doctor assured them it wasn't anything so sinister and was most likely sinusitis. Of course the patient didn't believe him because Google told him otherwise so he decides to go private and spend close to £500 on tests and private care only to be told you've got a sinusitis infection...
Papa 3 months ago
I have had multiple sinus infections and severe migraines. I do not see how anyone could confuse the two.
Colleen Glim 3 months ago
One feels like your face is gonna explode. The other feels like one side of your head is gonna explode. Both suck
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Mere Cat 3 months ago
I had chronic isolated sphenoid sinusitis (sphenoid sinuses are behind eyes, right next to the base of skull, very close to brain) that sometimes also triggered migraines (and a LOAD of weird symptoms). Would have never got proper treatment for that without privately done sinus ct scans, since the maxillary sinuses (that are visible in more basic scans) didn't show anything wrong.
#43
I had all the signs of a brain tumor and the doctors brushed it off as arthritis in my neck.
3 month hospital stay because they said it was nothing serious 🙂.
#44
Obligatory not a doctor but a Massage Therapist. Basically (not at all) the same thing.
I have lost count of the number of people who think they have carpal tunnel syndrome that really just have a minor case of nerve impingement.
Mel in Georgia 3 months ago
Well, in both cases a nerve in the hand or wrist is being pinched, usually due to overuse - right?
Debby Keir 3 months ago
The main difference is that the 'syndrome' one is chronic (long lasting) and not so easily treatable.
Load More Replies... #45
I went to my Dr about a month ago, had a spot on my back end that had me a little worried, moreso since my mother had skin cancer on her hiney. I had also recently been around someone who has shingles. Prior to this, I had pain in my foot and went online and found it to be plantar fasciitis. When I saw my Dr. later that day, I told her what I found on the internet and she said "Yep! That's exactly what it is!!"
Now, I joke when I am nervous and I was plenty nervous due to the incidence of melanoma in the family. So when I went in to see her about my spot, I told her that I had been on the internet and I was pretty sure I found out what it was that I had. She asked me to elaborate and I told her that I was pretty certain I had Shingles Cancer. She just about fell out of her chair laughing! :D.
#46
Not a doctor but I deal with migraines. I would not be surprised if someone experienced a migraine for the first time, googled their symptoms while they still had the clarity to do so, and went to the ER thinking they are having a stroke.
Chocolate llama 3 months ago
Absolutely. Even without googling anything I was thinking I was having a stroke when I lost my vision on one side during my first migraine
Nikki Sevven 3 months ago
I've had every type of migraine over the course of my life, but the one that scared me was the one that made me temporarily blind...while I was driving...on a curvy lakeshore road. Thankfully, I didn't panic and neither did my passenger. I had her take the wheel and steer us into a (thankfully empty) parking lot, coaching me when to brake. My vision came back after about 10 minutes, and the headache arrived an hour later.
Load More Replies...
#47
Not a doctor but when my fiance said he was having chest pains and when he breathed, it crackled, I googled and all of the symptoms lead to serious illnesses such a collapsed lung. Thought nothing of it, diagnosed it ourselves as an allergy and didnt go to a doctor till later in the day. It was in fact a fully deflated collapsed lung.
#48
I'm not a doctor, but I'm a medical assistant and I room patients for the doctor. This is in the occupational health field and we had a young gentleman come in who was pretty sure he had a groin hernia according to his Google search. He said he'd been lifting produce crates and experienced sharp, overwhelming pain in his groin. The doctor came back out after seeing him and was clearly fighting laughter by the time he got to the desk. Turns out the kid had Chlamydia which had caused things to become swollen and just happened to get symptomatic while he was at work.
#49
Not a doctor, but I am a pre med student who comes from an anti vax family. Occasionally someone will send me a link to "research" (usually a mom blog) about why vaccines are terrible.
#50
Not a doc, but mine actually appreciates it when i do some research. 3 times now i've gone in loaded with my findings and was correct each time. to be fair though i don't use webmd/similar for anything but a starting point, it is also useful to know how to describe the symptoms you are having.
if he tells me i need some physical therapy, i go to the edu sites, find the exercises and send him a mail to approve. frozen shoulder took just 6 months to sort like that.
that being said, some folks just shouldn't even try :D.
Nikki Sevven 3 months ago
My rheumatologist adores me, because I always ask if there are exercises that will help. I have fibromyalgia, rotator cuff tendonitis, bicep tendonitis, and arthritis. Exercises and stretching help a LOT.
#51
Obligatory not me but... a coleague of mine (BFF) told me about a patient he saw that, to him, looked like he had tonsil cancer, my friend told him about it, insisted on a biopsy and the patient went on to tell him that he had looked up his symptoms and he knew he just had acid reflux and there was no need for anything but the prescription for the omeprazole, when my friend explained, in lenght, the reason for the biopsy and all, the patient just noded and left, never came back to his practice.
#52
Flipping the script. Not a doctor. my son fit the WebMd criteria for hand foot mouth disease to the letter (including known exposure). It’s a common virus, but since I had no firsthand experience with it, I thought I should be the responsible adult who doesn’t self-diagnose. I took him the doctor anyway.
Got the brand new pediatrician at the practice. Told her about a few little bumps on his feet, the exposure, the flu-like symptoms. Described the sore throat, which is known to precede the rash. She said “Yeah, that sure sounds like HFM.”
She completed a physical exam, then told me “I don’t think he has HFM. He doesn’t have a widespread rash with the sore throat.” What?? She just agreed that this is a symptom! She said that the spots could be “irritation”.
Over the next two days he was covered in bumps. And was diagnosed by another doctor with HFM.
Debby Keir 3 months ago
One can feel unwell for a couple of days before a measles or chickenpox rash appears - it's not easy to diagnose some of these childhood diseases *before* all the symptoms arise. If there's a history of exposure (and they're unvaccinated) then *treat* as though they have it to avoid passing it on to others. Note, there isn't currently a HFM vaccine except in China.
#53
Veterinarian here.
This is the worst I ever had, but not because they were wrong.
A large lady wearing a muumuu brings a kitten into the clinic. She plops the kitten onto the examination table and says, "Pretty sure it's got ringworm."
I examine the kitten, and sure enough, it has a couple of classical ringworm lesions. Too young to give oral antifungals to, so I prescribe a topical therapy for it.
Large woman asks if that would work on human skin too. I say it should. She says good, because the reason she knew the kitten had ringworm was because she found a lesion on her own body that she looked up on Google, and it looked like ringworm.
Ace 3 months ago
The worst part being that presumably she treated herself instead of the kitten, and would have needed 20x as much so it probably wasn't going to be effective anyway. Did this come about because a doctor's visit is so much more expensive than the vet?
Fluffy Cat Sleeps 3 months ago
I don't know where OP is from or whether the woman had insurance but I'm my experience, going to the doctor has never been cheaper than going to the vet.
Load More Replies... #54
This is kind of the opposite, but still amusing in a sad, George Carlin was right kind of way.
I was poor, but also a responsible adult, so I was at the free clinic down the block from my work for a routine exam. In walks an acquaintance with a woman who was clearly her friend, but unknown to me. They come over and we make introductions. The acquaintance's friend is called shortly before I am. After the usual song and dance, I head back out. I see the acquaintance, now alone, and go to chat a bit more. She explains that her friend was sure she had a UTI, but it turned out to be gonorrhea. She was back asking how long she'd had it, and trying her damnedest to work out where it came from since her long term boyfriend couldn't possibly be the source because he would never cheat on her after the last time. I ask who the BF is, and it's this sleezebag in a band that was trying to try it on with me a few months back, but I was not into him. I had no idea he had a gf, or I would have given her a heads up. Here she was, adamant that she must've had gonorrhea for several years but her immune system suppressed it until she recently got stressed out. I told the acquaintance about his not so distance attempts at cheating with me, so she could maybe get the woman to see reason. I thought it would be better coming from a friend rather than a stranger.
#55
I went from feeling fine then 20 minutes later had a rash down half my body, couldn't see in the center of my vision, and saw undulating rainbows everywhere else, severe head and neck pain, stiffness, swelling (couldn't move neck) could barely breathe, unable to form words or type words, extreme light sensitivity, runny nose, etc. Also my work specifically was having a meningitis outbreak, as was the town I live in. I Googled symptoms and everywhere was saying meningitis. I had someone drive me to Urgent Care. I asked the first 2 docs if I had meningitis and they said, "You have meningitis, we don't treat that here, you need to go somewhere else."
I asked to be tested for it. Both of those docs refused. Third doc actually sat me down and examined me, said it wasn't meningitis but 8 other conditions I didn't know about all happening right then and perfectly mimicking meningitis. I learned my lesson not to self-diagnose and only list symptoms from now on.
#56
Not a doctor, but my friend once said a guy came with a backache and wanted to get operated coz he thought he had kidney failure.
#57
Ever since we studied multiple sclerosis in Neuro, I'm convinced I have it, despite my only symptom being parestesis (funny feelz) in my legs at night.
Debby Keir 3 months ago
well known condition * The phenomenon where a medical student believes they have a disease they are studying is called Medical Student Syndrome (MSS), also known as medical student's disease or medicalstudentitis. It's a common, temporary form of hypochondria where students, after learning about a new disease, temporarily develop symptoms or anxiety related to it, falsely attributing their own physical sensations to the illness. *
Sue User 3 months ago
Vasculitus can mess with you blood flow, resulting in parestesis and eventually nerve damage. Just to give you another thing to be paraniod about.
Kalikima 3 months ago
It could also be restless leg syndrome. I have that and get weird tingling feelings when I'm laying in bed reading. Something about being on my back, cuz I sleep on my side/stomach and it always goes away when I roll over to sleep.
Load More Replies... #58
Not a doctor but I was having horrible debilitating headaches for awhile, googled my symptoms and they ranged from stress to brain cancer. Ended up being sinusitis.
Debby Keir 3 months ago
Diagnosis of sinusitis. If you swing your head wildly and the pain gets worse, your sinuses are blocked and may be infected.
Colleen Glim 3 months ago
If I’ve got a headache, there is NO WAY I’m swinging my head wildly for anything!
Load More Replies... #59
At the hospital in my town there was a kid who came in saying he had knee pains, the doctor said it was from playing basketball and 5 months later at a different hospital they found that he had knee cancer and it was too late to treat him. He passed away a few weeks later... really sad story.
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Kim Kermes 3 months ago
Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Harvard Med School, and most medical schools have very nice websites. Stick with them.
Rick Murray 3 months ago
Sometimes when I'm really bored, I'll Google a random symptom (like rash on finger or itchy ear) and see how few hops I need before the prognosis is "you will cease, slowly and in great pain". It's actually startling how many minor symptoms end up with caskets and flowers; it's a wonder why we aren't all just randomly dropping. [I'm trying to write this in a way that won't get censored]
J. Maxx 3 months ago
My story is just the opposite. If I hadn't been so adamant about researching what was wrong with me, I probably would have gone many years without getting diagnosed with at least two of my autoimmune disorders. I have fibromyalgia, psoriatic arthritis, and peripheral neuropathy, plus low testosterone. All 4 I figured out. I had to do this because while I was stuck living in Florida, my d**n doctors were no help. So, I did my research, presented the facts, got referrals to the appropriate specialists, and was diagnosed. It took me several years, and I was at the darkest point, but finally, folks started to listen to me. The problem was, for the most part, that misogynistic doctors (even my female family doc) wouldn't listen to me because the symptoms I was having were for "female" issues. Except, of course, for the testosterone.
BookFanatic 3 months ago
College bestie had a small, weepy sore on her back. Didn't Google. Knew 100% it was her spinal rods (scoliosis surgery in her teens) causing issues. Went to health services on campus and after a 10-minute consult was told she drank too much and had fallen, injured her back, and blacked out. Turns out there was an infection so deep it went into her spine. Surgery, 2x daily bandage changing, and 8 weeks with a PICC line and anti-biotics. Her father called the school and rained down hell.
Mother Lunatic 3 months ago
I only ever once self-diagnosed, but that was more curiosity. My Dr. did agree with me though...plantar fasciitis.
Inacio Witt 3 months ago
I’m beyond grateful to share that #EarthCureHerbalClinic helped cure my husband’s Parkinson’s disease after so many years of suffering, setbacks, and challenges. We had tried so many treatments with little success, until we found EarthCure Herbal Clinic. Today, my husband is healthy, thriving, and completely symptom-free. He's even returned to work and is living his life without any limitations from PD. I am truly overjoyed and thankful for this incredible clinic. I wholeheartedly recommend www .earthcureherbalclinic .com to anyone seeking natural and effective alternatives for serious health conditions. They changed our lives!!
Inacio Witt 3 months ago
I’m beyond grateful to share that #EarthCureHerbalClinic helped cure my husband’s Parkinson’s disease after so many years of suffering, setbacks, and challenges. We had tried so many treatments with little success, until we found EarthCure Herbal Clinic. Today, my husband is healthy, thriving, and completely symptom-free. He's even returned to work and is living his life without any limitations from PD. I am truly overjoyed and thankful for this incredible clinic. I wholeheartedly recommend www .earthcureherbalclinic .com to anyone seeking natural and effective alternatives for serious health conditions. They changed our lives!
Kim Kermes 3 months ago
Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Harvard Med School, and most medical schools have very nice websites. Stick with them.
Rick Murray 3 months ago
Sometimes when I'm really bored, I'll Google a random symptom (like rash on finger or itchy ear) and see how few hops I need before the prognosis is "you will cease, slowly and in great pain". It's actually startling how many minor symptoms end up with caskets and flowers; it's a wonder why we aren't all just randomly dropping. [I'm trying to write this in a way that won't get censored]
J. Maxx 3 months ago
My story is just the opposite. If I hadn't been so adamant about researching what was wrong with me, I probably would have gone many years without getting diagnosed with at least two of my autoimmune disorders. I have fibromyalgia, psoriatic arthritis, and peripheral neuropathy, plus low testosterone. All 4 I figured out. I had to do this because while I was stuck living in Florida, my d**n doctors were no help. So, I did my research, presented the facts, got referrals to the appropriate specialists, and was diagnosed. It took me several years, and I was at the darkest point, but finally, folks started to listen to me. The problem was, for the most part, that misogynistic doctors (even my female family doc) wouldn't listen to me because the symptoms I was having were for "female" issues. Except, of course, for the testosterone.
BookFanatic 3 months ago
College bestie had a small, weepy sore on her back. Didn't Google. Knew 100% it was her spinal rods (scoliosis surgery in her teens) causing issues. Went to health services on campus and after a 10-minute consult was told she drank too much and had fallen, injured her back, and blacked out. Turns out there was an infection so deep it went into her spine. Surgery, 2x daily bandage changing, and 8 weeks with a PICC line and anti-biotics. Her father called the school and rained down hell.
Mother Lunatic 3 months ago
I only ever once self-diagnosed, but that was more curiosity. My Dr. did agree with me though...plantar fasciitis.
Inacio Witt 3 months ago
I’m beyond grateful to share that #EarthCureHerbalClinic helped cure my husband’s Parkinson’s disease after so many years of suffering, setbacks, and challenges. We had tried so many treatments with little success, until we found EarthCure Herbal Clinic. Today, my husband is healthy, thriving, and completely symptom-free. He's even returned to work and is living his life without any limitations from PD. I am truly overjoyed and thankful for this incredible clinic. I wholeheartedly recommend www .earthcureherbalclinic .com to anyone seeking natural and effective alternatives for serious health conditions. They changed our lives!!
Inacio Witt 3 months ago
I’m beyond grateful to share that #EarthCureHerbalClinic helped cure my husband’s Parkinson’s disease after so many years of suffering, setbacks, and challenges. We had tried so many treatments with little success, until we found EarthCure Herbal Clinic. Today, my husband is healthy, thriving, and completely symptom-free. He's even returned to work and is living his life without any limitations from PD. I am truly overjoyed and thankful for this incredible clinic. I wholeheartedly recommend www .earthcureherbalclinic .com to anyone seeking natural and effective alternatives for serious health conditions. They changed our lives!
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