It’s not that serious but…
My mom is a chronic hepatitis B carrier, having gotten it at birth (IIRC) from her mother. Needless to say, it was pretty much a forgone conclusion that if I wasn’t immunized for the stuff in the first few days after being born, that I would get it to. My doctor knew this. Still forgot to give me the damn shot, though. So now I can’t drink without much worry. Not exactly deadly, but still quite annoying.
wring , I guess mono is one of those things that is often misdiagnosed. The same thing happened to me, when I got it in high school. And they still dismissed me when my throat closed up and I could barely breathe, much less swallow the steroids I was supposed to be on! I spent a few days with my face over a vaporizer struggling to breathe, and ended up with permanent damage to my tonsils. I finally had them taken out last year (7 years later, after chronic problems), that was a whole experience in itself, (now I know 2 meds I am allergic to! Yay!) note to anyone considering getting tonsils removed after childhood: Consider ALL alternatives before going through this.
I take it upon myself to research any meds I am given now, it is scary how often Dr.'s will prescribe things I am allergic to, or their generic cousins.
Thinking about this topic more reminds me of somthing that happened to a friend of mine, she didn’t almost die but it was pretty bad.
She was scheduled for foot surgery to have an extra piece of bone removed that was causing her pain. While in pre-op, she overheard the nurses talking about the upcoming surgery, and they kept referring to “the left foot.” She at first didn’t realize they were talking about her surgery, which was supposed to be on her right foot! When she pointed this out, the nurses at first insisted “it had to be her left foot”, all the paperwork said so! When my friend she thought she knew which foot was causing her problems, they double-checked and found out the Dr. had read the x-ray backwards!:rolleyes:
The nurse cleared it up on the paperwork, but my friend still took a permanent marker and wrote “NO!” on her left foot.
A dear friend of mine had some massive damage done to one of her shoulders (long story) that required reconstructive surgery. One of the best bone and joint doctors in Austin was brought in to do the surgery (he has treated me and my father, too). As my friend was being prepped for surgery, the doctor talked to her a little, just to let her know that everything was gonna be ok. Just as the mask was being put on her face to put her under, he smiled, patted her on the hand and said, “Don’t worry, your hip will be just fine…”
He sometimes has a mean-spirited sense of humor…
Her shoulder is ok now, by the way.
I wasn’t exactly almost killed, but it could have been pretty bad. I went to a dermatologist about a suspicious mole on my leg. The dermatologist I chose, when she found out that I’m a lawyer, informed me that she doesn’t treat lawyers. WTF! I explained to her that I’m a criminal defense lawyer, that I have never and will never sue anyone because I don’t practice civil law, and my dad is a doctor. No dice. She did deign to look at my mole- literally glanced at it- and said it was “probably nothing and doesn’t need to come off”.
A few weeks later, I went to another dermatologist who said it needed to come off ASAP. It was an early level melanoma. If you leave those things alone too long, they get nasty and very deadly. I guess a doctor has a right not to treat lawyers if she doesn’t want to. I hope she never needs a lawyer!
Yonks ago I went in to have surgery on my wrist (partial fusion - long story). As normal pre-op was asked for allergies, etc. Am very sensitive to morphine. They put 2 bands on me indicating allergy to morphine - bright yellow and red.
When I came to I was hurtin bad so asked for some pain relief. The nurse came back with a syringe and popped it in my IV before I could ask what it was. When I went HELLO??!!?? waving my arm bands, she went white as a ghost and ran to the nearest doctor hollering she had just given morphine to someone who is allergic… what should she do??
Meanwhile… puking and feeling really bad in the corner…
She comes rushing back with more goop for me. Pumps me full of a counter for the reactions I’m having and trying to keep me conscious.
Now I’m double doped but the upchucking has slowed and I drift off…
When I was released the hospital called to check on me and ask how my visit with them went. When I explained what had happened, all I got as an “OH…” long pause… “Sorry to hear it was not up to your expectations” Click
WTF?? You dang near kill me, left me covered in hives and feeling crap and all I get this piddly apology?
Whatever…
This is mental, not physical, but 9 1/2 years ago I was taken to the hospital, pretty much non-responsive to anything after what I suppose I can best describe as a nervous breakdown. The near catatonia ended after about 48 hours, and I was able to explain to the doctor that I had a long history of (untreated) clinical depression. Nevertheless, I was diagnosed with Obessive-Compulsive Disorder and sent home after one week after being take these pills and come to a support group about 20 miles away twice a month and everything will be fine. Meanwhile, I’d lost my job because of the week-long hospitalization, my apartment was nearly uninhabitable, I still wasn’t functioning all that well, and I wasn’t sure I had a way to get to the support group. Fortunately, my friends had more sense and took me in hand for a while. Still more fortunately, I was able to get things together enough to get a job which let me change health care plans and get some real treatment. I found out later that the way the plan I had at the time tackled severe mental illness was hospitalize them for a week then kick them out. [sarcasm]Hey, why not? It’s not as if someone with severe depression and non-existent self-esteem is going to be up to complaining![/sarcasm]
This is one of the reasons I do try to do something about getting better treatment for mental illnesses and refuse to let myself be stigmatized.
CJ
“But I’m feeling much better now.”