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Clear and effective communication makes work and life so much simpler when it’s present. When there’s more or less total transparency and everyone’s on the same page, it’s far easier to do whatever it is you aim to do. In some areas, however, communication is far more important than in others. Sometimes, a white lie, a misspoken ‘fact,’ or an inability to mention a single detail can be the difference between life and death, health and illness.

For instance, medical professionals need a lot of information about their patients and their medical histories in order to treat them appropriately. Whether a patient is seriously ill, has been injured, or has come for a run-of-the-mill health checkup, failing to mention something that seems unimportant can have dire consequences.

The doctors of Reddit shared their stories about their very worst ‘I don’t think this is important, but-’ patients. Scroll down and have a read about how failing to disclose something a patient thought was meaningless actually turned out to be very meaningful. If we have any Doctor Pandas in the house today, you can share your own tales about miscommunicating patients in the comments, as a warning.

Bored Panda got in touch with Dr. Andrew Carroll, the CEO/Medical Director of Atembis LLC and Family Physician, for some insights about trust between doctors and their patients, what patients should prioritize communicating to medical professionals, and how experiencing pain differs between individuals.

"When you have a long-term relationship with a physician, it’s easier for there to be a two-way trust relationship. Our patients trust us to be knowledgeable, thorough, non-judgmental, and wise. We trust our patients to be honest, forthright, and open to a conversation. That’s more difficult when you’re seeing someone at an urgent care or emergency room because these are people you don’t typically know. That’s the value of having a Family Physician/Generalist," he explained to us.

"Also, just know that sometimes there’s a detail you may think of that you believe may not be important, but might be crucial to making a diagnosis. Just be honest and tell us."

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

Had a male come in with pancreatitis. Asking him some basic history..

"How much do you drink alcohol?"

"I don't use alcohol."

Ok, well not my first time so..

"Do you drink beer?"

"Yeah well after sauna I have some beer." (we are in Finland where sauna and beer go very well and frequently together)

"Ok, how many beers you have after sauna?"

"A case" (24 cans/case)

"And how many times per week you got to sauna?"

"3 to 4 times per week"

So he doesn't drink any alcohol, but 70-100 cans of beer per week.

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Paul Neff
Paul Neff
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some people call alcohol the hard stuff, or even mixed drinks, excluding beer or wine.

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According to Dr. Carroll, the CEO of Atembis LLC, the information that a patient should prioritize telling their doctor depends on the specific situation.

"What are you concerned about? What is it that got you into the doctor in an urgency? Does your chest pain remind you of when your father had his heart attack? Are you losing weight, but you don’t know why because you haven’t changed anything? Is your period late when you are always on time, no matter what? What has changed, what is different? Then tell us the story," the doctor shared what patients should consider.

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#2

30 Of The Wildest "I Don't Think This Is Important, But-" Moments, As Shared By Doctors On This Online Thread Everyone at my company knows the story of the patient who came in for genetic counseling, went through their whole family history with the counselor, and then concluded with "Oh yeah, I was adopted as a baby and don't know who my birth parents are, does that matter?"

ThadisJones , cottonbro Report

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Jyri Hakola
Jyri Hakola
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would liked to have seen the counselors face right in that moment

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#3

30 Of The Wildest "I Don't Think This Is Important, But-" Moments, As Shared By Doctors On This Online Thread Intercepted a young woman who was just hit by a car. Her boyfriend was standing with her freaking out. I do a basic physical exam and get a history, and make her comfortable as we wait for the ambulance to arrive.

Once the ambulance arrives they ask for the same information, except this time the boyfriend mentions he was the one who was actually hit by the car and was shielding his girlfriend's body. The entire car's windshield was cracked by the impact of his back. He was just freaking out and worried about her, and was in shock and hadn't begun to feel any pain yet.

milksteaknjellybean , Pavel Danilyuk Report

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K Sarfo
K Sarfo
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They were both hit. Him by the car, her by his body.

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"It is easier for us as physicians to not ask a ton of questions, but to just let you tell us the story of what happened. Make it descriptive and rich. Start from the beginning or even before the beginning, and don’t stop until the end when you arrived at the doctor’s office. We can fill in any needed details after you’re done telling your story."

Dr. Carroll noted that the pain experience of an individual is very different between people. "There are many factors that go into it: genetics, upbringing, previous pain experience chronic illness (diabetes, heart disease), neurologic injury, substance abuse and addiction, ethnicity, history of mental, physical, and sexual abuse, current medications," he said that this list isn't exhaustive.
#4

As a patient, but this is too fresh not to share. I'm 32 and at work Friday morning (as in 2 days ago) I started having pain in my lower molars around 10:40am. It eventually got so bad I left work and went to urgent care (noon). I thought it was a gum infection and I'd get some antibiotics and ibuprofen and be told to see a dentist or something. I had to keep apologizing to the intake person because I was stumbling over my words, unfocused because of pain.

When the urgent care Doc came in (1pm) she talked to me for about 30 seconds before peeping in my mouth and saying my gums were fine, then checking my eyes with a flashlight and calling an ambulance. By the time I got to the hospital (2ish?) I was basically nonverbal and my attempts at texting had become disjointed. My spouse met me in the ER after a CT scan and helped me consent to an IV clot buster (TPA) at about 3pm. I'd had a stroke.

For those doing the timeline math at home, YIKES.

Good news: the TPA worked very fast and I'm hopefully getting discharged tonight. I owe that urgent care doc a thank you note.

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Xenia Harley
Xenia Harley
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, a lot of people don't have slurred speech until later! I had a stroke two years ago. I walked horse in that morning, went to the dump and threw out garbage (noticed it was weird to throw), got my dogs (4 big dogs) and went back to the farm and went for a hike with my friend and the dogs. I noticed that I couldn't throw a stick for my dog, and was tripping more. Only some hours later started slurring my speech.

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#5

As a patient I had a doctor tell me "I don't think this is important".


My physio had identified a mole on my back that had changed colours. Being fair skinned, and Australian, I was obviously concerned about melanoma so I went to my doctor for a checkup. He looked at it and said "it's nothing don't worry". I insisted that since I'd made the effort to come in he might as well take a biopsy and get it tested. He was reluctant but I insisted and he eventually removed the mole for testing.


A few days later the doctor rang and informed me that I had a very nasty malignant melanoma and needed surgery immediately if not before. Two days later I was in hospital and they removed a lump from my shoulder three inches across and two inches deep. Cancer free now for 8 years but if I had taken the doctor at his word of "it's nothing" I'd most likely be dead now.

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#6

30 Of The Wildest "I Don't Think This Is Important, But-" Moments, As Shared By Doctors On This Online Thread Had a male in his 50s WALKS into trauma to have his left thigh stitched up. Not an uncommon wound in an agricultural area. Speaking to him while stitching him up he tells me he fell off a ladder while cutting a branch and the machete sliced him on the way down. Told him I was going to write him up for an xray of the entire leg just in case. He kept on saying he was fine, his knee hurt a bit but logically that was from the fall, I agreed, but asked him to go to the xray department just in case.

He reluctantly walk there and back. X-rays showed a helical fracture almost the entire length of his femur! Besides being a dangerous fracture the femur is supposed to be the most painful bone to break and he was walking around.

In the end had to show him the break to get him to sit down on a wheelchair and into the hands of orthopedics. That man's pain tolerance still impresses me.

F0ssil , pratik patel Report

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Real life might not be like an episode of ‘House,’ but a single detail can change how medical professionals approach your treatment. Patients, especially if they’re ill or hurt, aren’t in the best condition to know what information might be vital for doctors to know and what’s useless, so it’s best to be fully open and honest.

In short, the more information you give your doctor, the more they know about your medical history, the more appropriate and effective the treatment they can give you. What’s more, this can help them diagnose any illnesses you might have, whether hereditary or not.

So it’s best to tell the professionals about your medical history, your family, what surgeries you’ve had, what allergies you have, and what medication you use. And if you’ve had an accident or mysteriously fallen ill, details from the actual incident or preceding days and weeks can help turn the tide in your favor.

“Family medical history is a record of health information about a person’s family, usually including three generations of relatives. Families share genetic makeups, environments, and lifestyle—these factors can provide insight into medical conditions that may run in your family. Noticing concerns in a patient’s health as well as having an understanding patterns of diseases or disorders will make a diagnosis more likely, which is particularly important in catching something harmful early,” writes ‘My GP.’

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#7

I was an internal medicine resident who had a patient come to my clinic for “persistent flu”.

I had never seen her before, and she was a healthy appearing woman in her 60s. About a month before seeing me, she was seen by her PCP with persistent coughing, and otherwise had no shortness of breath or other infectious symptoms. Just a dry cough. She got tested for flu and was negative, but got tamiflu just incase it was a false negative. She had a chest X-ray which was normal. She came to me a month later because her cough persisted despite completing her therapy.

Everything sounded great. Heart, lungs, everything. To be honest I don’t usually do this, but something in my gut told me to feel for lymph nodes. I felt around and found something above her left clavicle. It was hard, round, and she was completely unaware of it. I told her it was probably a reactive lymph node, but just incase, I wanted to get an ultrasound. This cascaded into her getting a biopsy, which showed squamous cell lung cancer. A CT scan showed stage IV lung cancer, not seen on her chest X-ray. All diagnosed because of a lymph node that almost by chance I was lucky enough to find by being thorough.

I checked her chart about a year ago, and she was doing well. She got therapy and was in remission after a very long road and many obstacles. I’ll never forget her or her case.

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#8

30 Of The Wildest "I Don't Think This Is Important, But-" Moments, As Shared By Doctors On This Online Thread Had a patient come into the ER with some sort of spider/bug bite on her hand that had progressed to a red line running up her arm. She stated she put Benadryl cream on and it was very itchy.

We continued talking and I asked if she had any allergies…”yes, Benadryl.” I thought good lord wtf and I’m sure it was reflected on my face.

We washed the Benadryl cream off her arm and miraculously it stopped itching.

sweetlyserious , NIAID Report

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#9

30 Of The Wildest "I Don't Think This Is Important, But-" Moments, As Shared By Doctors On This Online Thread Me "do you have any medical history? Including things like heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure?"

Patient "no, nothing ever"

Me "so why do you take [list of heart meds]"

Patient "oh I've had multiple cardiac arrests"

saltieeee , ANTONI SHKRABA Report

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Meanwhile, ‘Web MD’ notes that this information gives your doctor important clues about your health. Many diseases run in families, after all.

“The history also tells your doctor what health issues you may be at risk for in the future. If your doctor learns, for example, that both of your parents have heart disease, they may focus on your heart health when you’re much younger than other patients who don’t have a family history of heart disease.”

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Trust can lead to more openness and honesty. According to a study published in 2017, researchers found that the actions that help build trust between doctors and patients included providing reassurance, telling them that it’s fine to ask questions, and showing them their lab results and explaining what they mean.

What’s more, doctors ought to avoid judging their patients through their use of language and their behavior, and should ask the patients what they want in terms of treatment goals and preferences. What patients truly want is to deal with medical staff who are knowledgeable and genuinely care about them.
#10

30 Of The Wildest "I Don't Think This Is Important, But-" Moments, As Shared By Doctors On This Online Thread I had to take out the remainder of this guy's teeth. He was in his 60’s and told us verbally and on his health history that he didn't take any meds. So I took out his last 8 teeth, all easy extractions due to infections and periodontal disease. But I couldn't get him to stop bleeding. I asked him again if he was taking anything. I finally got the clots stabilized, but it took almost an hour and I had to consult our oral surgeon. When he saw the oral surgeon a few months later about placing implants, he told the oral surgeon he was on BP medication and blood thinners. I refused to see him anymore after that.

DrRam121 , Herry Lawford Report

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DennyS (denzoren)
DennyS (denzoren)
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow...like that is a key piece of information. I feel really sorry for the dentist, that must have been very scary.

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#11

30 Of The Wildest "I Don't Think This Is Important, But-" Moments, As Shared By Doctors On This Online Thread Me: "do you have any chronic diseases like Diabetes or high blood pressure?"
Patients: "no :)))))"
Me: "but you do inject Insulin daily?'
Patients: "yeah :)))"
"What's that for then?"
"oh, for my sugar, ya know"

sadworldscaredgirl , David Moruzzi Report

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Brandi Delph
Brandi Delph
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In some places (in the US) people, especially older generations refer to diabetes as "having the sugar." Depending on patient's age and education level, may have been ignorance of proper term rather than leaving out info.

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#12

Had to perform an extraction, took a detailed medical history. Patient said they were a diabetic and a hypertensive. Both a big contraindication in extractions due to uncontrollable bleeding. Unless they're meticulous about their taking their medicines and you stop the blood thinners five days prior to surgery, it's usually a blood bath.


I asked the well educated, 50 year old woman a number of times if she took her diabetes medicines on time and if she does at home rapid tests to check her blood sugar. She said she takes them everyday without fail and hasn't missed a day in over two years. She said she's super disciplined about her health and would tell me if she hadn't taken them.


I sent her in for a Rapid blood sugar test anyway, as a precaution, and lo and behold her values come back as 282mg. Almost twice as much as the normal value so it wasn't even like she was JUST off the mark.
I ask her to explain and she gives a shocked expression and insisted that she took them. I ask her to physically show me her medicines instead of listing them out and she finally says oh I don't have it right now, I make it when I need it. 'make'.

She drinks bitter gourd juice on time everyday instead of her diabetic pills because they are too big.
And she 100% believed bitter gourd juice was the only medication she needs.
She's a high school teacher.

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#13

30 Of The Wildest "I Don't Think This Is Important, But-" Moments, As Shared By Doctors On This Online Thread 5 year old girl, at a pediatrician visit her mother said she was “acting loopy.” A day later a scan confirmed a massive brain tumor in inoperable real estate. Three weeks later I did her autopsy.

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#14

30 Of The Wildest "I Don't Think This Is Important, But-" Moments, As Shared By Doctors On This Online Thread Emergency radiologist here.
I see plenty of people presenting with understated symptoms that turn out to be mind blowing advanced disease.
The saddest one was probably the 4 year old boy who presented with a rigid abdomen for a few months. Was told by their pediatrician it was constipation months ago but his parents never followed up when it didn't resolve. When I imaged his abdomen I found his entire liver was replaced with a mass consistent with hepatoblastoma. I asked the parents why they waited so long to work it up. They said they were satisfied with the diagnosis of constipation. That one left a mark on my soul.

abandnedsquirrel , Jonathan Borba Report

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Angela B
Angela B
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This one breaks my heart. I was diagnosed with retinoblastoma at 6 weeks of age. My Mum noticed my right eye looked " milky" instead of reflective. She showed it to my Grandfather, who told her to take me to a Doctor, NOW. I was seen, flown to another city for a second opinion. My Mum was told I had to have my right eye immediately, or, I would die in two weeks. My right eye was removed. I am now 50 and have so much to be grateful for. If you notice something different, new, unusual, or somthing that does not improve, get it checked. If you are unsure, get it checked. And for the love of bananas, if you are not taken seriously, get a second opinion. Sure, you might think you are a hypochondriac, but, it may also save your life. Stay safe and be well Pandas.

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#15

30 Of The Wildest "I Don't Think This Is Important, But-" Moments, As Shared By Doctors On This Online Thread When I was in my final years of med school (English division of a European University in a country where I speak the native language fluently) we were to do patient interviews and physical examinations on our own and then circle back to our supervisor.

I was translating back and forth between the patient (infectious diseases department) and a fellow classmate whom I was doing the interview with. The patient said "so you guys are coming in on a Saturday to do patient work? Good for you for going the extra mile" (it was a Friday, which I initially brushed off as a mistake)

My classmate asked me to ask the patient if he could tell us the date. I was like "are you sure? He's here for an infection not head trauma, he might think it's a bit degrading". I thought it wasn't important but she insisted so I translated the question.

Patient replies "ah well its 2002, of course!" (it was 2018).
After more questioning we realised all of his replies were all as if it were 2002 (eg. "The last trip I went on was to Africa in the 80's, so about 15 years ago")

As it turns out he had neurosyphilis that went unchecked for many many years.

TAmedschoolnobody , Andrew Neel Report

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Markus Holstein
Markus Holstein
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always ask my patients if they know the date and where they currently are, even if it is a bit embarrassing with an obviously orientated patient. Better safe than sorry

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#16

Me: I know my vision is a bit funny at the moment - I will go and get an eye test soon.

Wife, after 4 weeks of me pulling my glasses to the end of my nose: Enough! I'm booking you a test.

Optician: Yeah, something isn't right - something is pushing in to your eyes from in your brain. You need to go to hospital. I'll call them now.

Phone call from hospital, while I'm in the opticians...

Me: Yeah, I can come in - but I'm taking my car in for a service on Weds - will Thursday be okay?

Them: Err.. okay?

Turns out I had a brain tumour in my Pineal Gland that was blocking the normal exit of brain fluid. Three surgeries and a round of radiotherapy later and it's 90% gone.

My wife, the optician and the brain surgeon saved my life, because I was too casual to save it myself.

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#17

30 Of The Wildest "I Don't Think This Is Important, But-" Moments, As Shared By Doctors On This Online Thread Had twins in the NICU with a rare genetic defect that was causing serious pulmonary distress….extraordinarily, one of our long time nurses recognized the last name and realized she had taken care of their mom while she was hospitalized on the pediatric unit some years before….the mom never thought to tell us she had the same rare genetic pulmonary insufficiency. Could have saved us about of week of tests.

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Chich
Chich
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That photo. I've heard of budget cuts but this is ridiculous.

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#18

One of my first patients as a medical student, we were asking her about prior medical history bc she was in a waitlist for an intestinal transplant, and we asked her in every possible way if she had any history and she was like "no, I was very healthy before this."

Finally we ask her "do you take any medications at home?" and she goes "oh, just the meds I take for the lupus"

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#19

30 Of The Wildest "I Don't Think This Is Important, But-" Moments, As Shared By Doctors On This Online Thread I once check in a guy and asked him if he'd had any previous surgery.

"No, never"

When I examined him he had a surgical scar from just above his pubic bone, to just below the sternum.

"What's that then?" I asked.

He stared down at it and said:

"I've never noticed that before"

WTF????

Underwritingking , RazorMax Report

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#20

30 Of The Wildest "I Don't Think This Is Important, But-" Moments, As Shared By Doctors On This Online Thread While pregnant with me, my mom was wrapping up an OB appointment. The GYN had already left the room, mom was gathering herself to leave and mentioned to the nurse her contacts were messing with her - she had spots in her vision.

The nurse stopped and asked her to sit down. Brought back in the GYN, who had her stay and deliver me via emergency c section. Without anyone knowing it, she had spontaneously developed pre-eclampsia and her blood pressure was rocketing sky high.

She was dangerously close to having a seizure and that would've been that if she hadn't mentioned the spots in her vision and just left as the appointment was over, or the nurse didn't listen.

AttorneyDense , Jimmy Conover Report

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Tyler Zenner
Tyler Zenner
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is something wrong here. She never got her BP checked?

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#21

Did a bunion & hammertoe surgery on a lady with no allergies. New patient packet, primary care note all had “no known allergies”. I always ask about metal allergy anytime I plan on putting in hardware…

Surgery goes great. I’m on call for the practice and receive a phone call for the group 18 hours post op. Her nerve block had worn off and she was in excruciating pain. Give instructions on what to do.

Next morning she is in my office before I even arrive. 10/10 pain, sweating profusely, blood pressure elevated, foot is massive. Clearly not faking it.

Have to send her to hospital for intractable pain. Blood work indicates elevated eosinophils but everything else normal. No blood clot or infection.

Hospitalist convinced its complex regional pain syndrome. I rack my brain and think of WTF could be going on. I am only 5 months out of residency. My butt is puckering so hard.

Since eosinophils elevated, ask if she is allergic to jewelry? 🤔🤔

“Yeah, my tongue swelled up when I had it pierced. I had it removed the next day”

She had a freaking NICKEL allergy. No allergist will see her to confirm so this is all speculation but makes sense with the hardware I used.

Once the hardware is removed and exchanged for titanium, her pain resolved.

There was one case in my residency of hardware allergy (1/3000 cases I was first or second assist on). If I did not scrub into that case, I don’t know if I would have figured this out so quickly.

Crazy case. Now I always ask: “have you ever had any reactions to jewelry?” A lot of patients won’t tell you about problems with jewelry and may not know they have metal allergies!

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#22

30 Of The Wildest "I Don't Think This Is Important, But-" Moments, As Shared By Doctors On This Online Thread Patients not telling HIV status despite knowing they are positive.
When further asked that why didn't they tell us, they say that they thought its not important.
How can HIV not be important, it changes everything.

Dr_critical , Karolina Grabowska Report

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Jods
Jods
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not too long ago if you mentioned you were HIV positive you could kiss goodbye to your long-term job. On some application forms you were asked this question which almost always meant that you wouldn’t be attending an interview. Not only a death sentence in those days but an end of any career and a good life.

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#23

30 Of The Wildest "I Don't Think This Is Important, But-" Moments, As Shared By Doctors On This Online Thread As a student in AE asking a patient who came in with head injury after a fight some questions. At the end he mentions that for the last several months he had been having blackout where he would wake on the floor sore all over or having hurt himself. That and he had woke feeling more tired than before. The dude had untreated epilepsy

Bubblycatty , Andrea Piacquadio Report

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BannedFromABoatShow
BannedFromABoatShow
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My first seizure, grand mal, I was alone with my one month old baby. We were going to meet my husband for lunch and I told him I had a headache so we’d stay home. Baby needed changing, and in the time it took me to walk from the living room, down the hall, and onto the changing table (thank God I got her there) I couldn’t see. Woke up on the floor a few hours later, no idea what had happened. We just figured I was dehydrated. Till it happened again when my husband was home to see it.

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#24

I'm a veterinarian. My favorites are foreign bodies (like a dog eating a whole bone, or a sock, or something similar).

I get when you don't realize something was eaten, but I have had so many times where the client swears up and down that the dog did not eat anything, could not have eaten anything, and nothing is missing. Then when we remove a whole towel, the owner is like "oh, the kitchen towel? Yes I did see him chewing on that yesterday, and we haven't been able to find it since."

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RafCo (he/him)
RafCo (he/him)
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My cat stopped eating, poor guy was super sick. I took him to vet, and they did x-rays, couldn't find what was wrong. Finally, they did an exploratory surgery, and found a raw bean (like black bean), whole and lodged in his intestine. Interestingly, he was not constipated, but he hadn't been eating, so maybe that's why. But his intestines were swollen, and extremely painful. In my defense, I did not notice that we had a missing bean. He's fine now BTW. We make sure to be extra careful with our beans.

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#25

30 Of The Wildest "I Don't Think This Is Important, But-" Moments, As Shared By Doctors On This Online Thread My (~4F at the time) mom thought that it was weird how I could describe what I see of one part of the environment and not the other especially because according to her I was a happy child and didn’t report any sight issue.

She brings me to the doctor, afraid that I may have an intellectual disability.

Turns out one of my eyes is totally blind.

Emptydumbass , Caleb Woods Report

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TheAquarius1978
TheAquarius1978
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well you where luckyer than me then só i have always been diagnosted with myopia, nothing new there, but when i had to go do my " check up " for the mandatory military service One of the soldiers doing me the eye sight test wanted to hit me because i was " f*****g " with him lol, só an officer came Over finished my test and goes, " this man is technically blind from the left eye " ( i have periferal Vision but i only ser blurs from my left eye )

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#26

Had a guy in his 50s who had been seeing an acupuncturist for an area of numbness and weakness travelling down his legs. He’d had 2 months of acupuncture for them with no improvement, so very reluctantly booked a routine GP appointment. At that point he’d stared to have issues with his urination too.

As soon I started speaking to him it became obvious that the symptoms he presented with were consistent with spinal cord compression - an absolute medical emergency. We got him straight into hospital and imaging showed cancer, with a tumour pressing onto his spinal column. Although he started treatment and steroids that day, by then it was too late. He lost the ability to walk and died a few months later from the cancer.

It was enormously sad and frustrating as that constellation of symptoms would have raised an immediate reg flag with anyone with medical training. Had he come in months earlier, maybe his prognosis would’ve been quite different.

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Ivana Bašić
Ivana Bašić
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hurt my back and my GP would always ask about my bathroom habits. It was a bit annoying, actually, wish he'd explained the relevance of the questions.

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#27

30 Of The Wildest "I Don't Think This Is Important, But-" Moments, As Shared By Doctors On This Online Thread Saw a man early 70's who had a knee that was at least 3X its size. He had waited all weekend before going to the ER and went only because his wife insisted. He was kind of pissed. Of course his knee was broken. When they ask what he took for the pain his answer was : *"A couple of Tylenols."*

Apparently wanting to feel young again :) he tried his son's motorcycle and it fell on him. He didn't tell anyone because he was too embarassed.

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#28

Oops, I was the patient. I went in for severe pain in my right eye and reduced vision. Asked me for my family history and I mention everything I thought was relevant.


“No immune disorders or anything like that?”

“Oh well, my mom has MS but there’s no possible way I have that.”

“…”

“…”

“You’ve got optic neuritis, and probably MS. Sorry.”

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Madeleine
Madeleine
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why did they think there was no possible way? What inspires someone who apparently has no medical training and who knows, on some level, that they made no effort whatsoever to learn about a particular topic, to think they understand it well? Whatever it is, it’s much more than an oops.

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#29

This 20s guy came into the hospital, he had a lot of conditions where he wouldn't make it past 40 and he currently had some infection. We kept giving him antibiotics which helped, but not as much as we would have liked.

After about a week of being in the hospital I walk in and I'm talking to him and he tells me that he got a medically necessary circumcision on his last admission to the hospital. I ask if it's okay if I take a look to make sure it's healing okay. It was black with all kinds of infection.

I'm just not sure how a 20s married man (or his wife) never thought to tell anyone about this for the past week.

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Aboredpanda
Aboredpanda
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People will hide issues with their genetalia to the last bitter end. When I was a nursing student a patient didn't tell anyone his s*****m was the double size of normal. The only reason I noticed something was wrong, was that he accidentally brushed it and flinched, and I was able to ask him what was going on. Then he resignedly showed me. He was hospitalized for something else, and hadn't thought to mention it since it wasn't related...

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#30

When I was a recent grad while working with the army, a soldier came to er, he had just returned from vacation and complained about severe headache, he had been hit with a beer bottle the previous day, I didn't think much at first because he was conscious and there wasn't anything more in anamnesis, that was until medical examination where I found that he had high blood pressure and bradycardia.

Sent him to a larger hospital and surprise, surprise, he had quite the subdural hematoma. I still wonder how that man was walking as if nothing was wrong with him.

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JayCee
JayCee
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So, he disclosed, but the doctor ignored the disclosure until after running tests.

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