Can we always trust doctors?

[Bastett]

I think that my health anxiety spiraling was initially caused or aggravated specifically with doctors fault. I was anxious before, but I didn't rush to the hospital or doctors for every single problem I had. After my dad committed suicide I became even more anxious but I was keeping myself pretty well.

A month after my dad died I developed a bad cough and shortness of breath. My then GP did blood work and CRP - it was not elevated so she refused to get me an xray. Said I was fine and it was all from my anxiety. So the next day I went to university, passed an exam and felt so ill ... I went back home - 4 hours on a train - my lungs were literally on fire, i drank ice cold water and it didn't help. I got hallucinations and honestly I almost died. My mom waited for me in my city, with an ambulance. My temperature was 41C ,and turns out I had pneumonia. Luckily I was prescribed antibiotics and got better. That was the first ding ding ding in my anxious mind that I couldn't trust doctors! Because my CRP is never elevated, nor is my moms. Must be something in our blood.

But I was fine and NO bouts of health anxiety until 2014! I had throat issues and never thought twice about them. Swallowed a Bactrim pill and 10 minutes later my skin was developing big, red, raised, itchy and burning nodules, symmetric. My eyes were swollen and my lips and hard and soft palate were full with blisters and sores, like you get with herpes, just many more and much more painful. Next day I went to ER and they gave me anti allergy system and red nodules ended itching, but other things stayed. I was sure I had allergic reaction because it happened after the pill, literally.

But doctors insisted that I have sarcoidosis! A dreadful autoimmune disease of lungs. They didn't perform tests, just said that I have it because of my symmetric erythema. I refused to stay and check because It was ridiculous. I KNEW it was an allergy and if I stay away from that pill, I am going to be ok. Later I found out (Dr.Google helped me) that what I had was actually Steven Johnson syndrome from antibiotics, really an allergic reaction - severe one. Maybe I had better stayed in hospital because I had those problems with my mouth sores and nodules didn't disappear for MONTHS! Even 2 years later I still had scars left. Steven Johnson syndrome literally is a reaction that causes skin tissue death.

But when I went home, I GOOGLED sarcoidosis and it was the start of my health anxiety. I immediately developed shortness of breath, and other somatic symptoms. I checked myself every day for months scared to find new red rash.

News flash, I did not have sarcoidosis. I really did have allergy and Steven Johnsons syndrome. I had the same allergic reaction a few months ago to another sulfanomide but not that severe. So doctors suggesting I had SARCOIDOSIS was plainly stupid and unprofessional.


So I had two cases of doctors being wrong - first when she didn't diagnose me with what I actually had, second when they diagnosed me with an awful disease I didn't have.

While I understand that these cases served as triggers for my health anxiety because since that SARCOIDOSIS thing I've diagnosed myself with all possible kinds of diseases and I don't trust doctors easily. I only trust it somewhat when they perform scans/tests for specific reasons. Just "opinions" I can't trust, especially from not a specialist, just a GP or internist (one that diagnosed me with Sarcoidosis). So If I have a real or perceived problem I make sure I get all the available tests and go the best specialists of the field. As if THEY say I am fine, then I can believe I am.

[axolotl]

Sounds like you've had some very specific situations there that have led you down a very specific way of thinking, but whatever we think we know from Googling we are unqualified to understand most of it and the biases of our anxiety means we are not impartial enough to do "research" as we cherry-pick the things that scare us and ignore the reams of reassurance we see along the way.

We can't get a test for every blip and burble we go to our GPs with. The NHS would be bankrupted overnight. What you call an "opinion" from a GP is the result of years of incredibly hard medical school followed by many more years of on-the-job training and experience. The fact that doctors don't always get it right first time (which is vastly different from being "stupid and unprofessional") does not mean we can go in with a relativist view that our "opinion" from doing a bit of Googling is as good as theirs.

Very occasionally "Dr Google" will be right, but generally it has given users of this forum (myself included) nothing but grief and sent them down rabbit-holes of life-destroying panic and should always be avoided at all costs by those who want to control their health anxiety. Leave it to the professionals.

[Bastett]

Sounds like you've had some very specific situations there that have led you down a very specific way of thinking, but whatever we think we know from Googling we are unqualified to understand most of it and the biases of our anxiety means we are not impartial enough to do "research" as we cherry-pick the things that scare us and ignore the reams of reassurance we see along the way.

We can't get a test for every blip and burble we go to our GPs with. The NHS would be bankrupted overnight. What you call an "opinion" from a GP is the result of years of incredibly hard medical school followed by many more years of on-the-job training and experience. The fact that doctors don't always get it right first time (which is vastly different from being "stupid and unprofessional") does not mean we can go in with a relativist view that our "opinion" from doing a bit of Googling is as good as theirs.

Very occasionally "Dr Google" will be right, but generally it has given users of this forum (myself included) nothing but grief and sent them down rabbit-holes of life-destroying panic and should always be avoided at all costs by those who want to control their health anxiety. Leave it to the professionals.

I know! And I do not encourage to self diagnose over the google! It is just I don't understand how can I step over my own experience and start trusting doctors again! That was the point of my post. :(

[Chris 614]

Unfortunately, there are bad doctors out there. I feel for you. I can understand why you are not trusting of them. You have had a couple of bad experiences. However, not all doctors are like this. Most doctors get things right.

[Bastett]

I pay for all my tests myself or my job insurance does. I do not use state funded medicine often because waiting lists are so long that I think I am either going to die from that problem I fear or from my health anxiety (and latter is more correct )

[axolotl]

I know! And I do not encourage to self diagnose over the google! It is just I don't understand how can I step over my own experience and start trusting doctors again! That was the point of my post. :(

Sorry, I think I probably read you wrong and sorry if I was snappy - it's just my experiences with falling for Dr Google have led me to such awful places...

I think you have look at the language you used though to see how you're thinking - i.e. thinking if a doctor is wrong they must be "stupid and unprofessional". Maybe they were, I don't know, but it's also possible they were fallible human beings whose job it is to make the most logical and likely call based on the information presented to them. That doesn't necessarily make them stupid, or unprofessional, if sometimes a patient comes back and they need to think of a plan B.

You had some experiences that have shaped your viewpoint here, which are understandable, but doctors are hugely well-trained. I work in a university and I know the absolute torture they go through to get qualified - I'm not sure why anyone does it! When a doctor gives an "opinion" it is an expert opinion, based on at least a decade's training and experience, it's not just a guess.

But I guess you know all this, and your anxious brain's working on a much less rational level than that.

Again sorry for sounding snappy, I didn't mean to be.

[Bastett]

Sorry, I think I probably read you wrong and sorry if I was snappy - it's just my experiences with falling for Dr Google have led me to such awful places...

I think you have look at the language you used though to see how you're thinking - i.e. thinking if a doctor is wrong they must be "stupid and unprofessional". Maybe they were, I don't know, but it's also possible they were fallible human beings whose job it is to make the most logical and likely call based on the information presented to them. That doesn't necessarily make them stupid, or unprofessional, if sometimes a patient comes back and they need to think of a plan B.

You had some experiences that have shaped your viewpoint here, which are understandable, but doctors are hugely well-trained. I work in a university and I know the absolute torture they go through to get qualified - I'm not sure why anyone does it! When a doctor gives an "opinion" it is an expert opinion, based on at least a decade's training and experience, it's not just a guess.

But I guess you know all this, and your anxious brain's working on a much less rational level than that.

Again sorry for sounding snappy, I didn't mean to be.

Yes, I understand all that. Apart from my health anxiety I am a pretty rational being. I only called what they did as stupid and unprofessional because it sent me on a downward spiral of my mental health. I am angry, that is why I said so. I understand that everyone can make mistakes. But the information that was presented to them is that I had a pill and had a reaction to it 10 minutes later. I visited an allergist later on and she agreed that it was an allergy and bewared me not to take that pill ever again or it can be fatal next time.

But I was obsessed with that sarcoidosis thing at least for a few months. I just think that they shouldn't have said what they said - with no tests or xrays of my lungs not suggesting sarcoidosis but insisting I had it. When I said I would not stay in hospital, the doctor actually said that she knows that I will come back when I have new rash appearing, that it will not be the last time and then I will find out she was right. And that was, in my opinion, unprofessional - to scare me with no real reason..

Maybe it wouldn't have left such an impression on a person with a stable mental health but for me it did. A week later I had read many forums about living with sarcoidosis, how people suffered from it, etc. That is where Dr.Google started playing tricks on me.

[axolotl]

Yes, I understand all that. Apart from my health anxiety I am a pretty rational being. I only called what they did as stupid and unprofessional because it sent me on a downward spiral of my mental health. I am angry, that is why I said so. I understand that everyone can make mistakes. But the information that was presented to them is that I had a pill and had a reaction to it 10 minutes later. I visited an allergist later on and she agreed that it was an allergy and bewared me not to take that pill ever again or it can be fatal next time.

But I was obsessed with that sarcoidosis thing at least for a few months. I just think that they shouldn't have said what they said - with no tests or xrays of my lungs not suggesting sarcoidosis but insisting I had it. When I said I would not stay in hospital, the doctor actually said that she knows that I will come back when I have new rash appearing, that it will not be the last time and then I will find out she was right. And that was, in my opinion, unprofessional - to scare me with no real reason..

Maybe it wouldn't have left such an impression on a person with a stable mental health but for me it did. A week later I had read many forums about living with sarcoidosis, how people suffered from it, etc. That is where Dr.Google started playing tricks on me.

Yeah... I get where you're coming from with that one.

[unicorndusy]

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about the misdiagnosis' you have had...I would too feel the same as you and actually find it hard to trust doctors even though they haven't got it wrong with me yet (touch wood). I always read about people who have been assured nothing is wrong and they have died. What you need to remember is that 99% of doctors get things right on the money consistently and as we are human we can all make mistakes. It's hard to accept when you have anxiety, but most doctors care and have studied hard for their qualification and know their stuff. Take care

Peace and love

[toddsmum]

There are bad doctors, same as there are incompetent or rude people in every other walk of life. It's not as common as the newspapers would have you think though. They would have you think every one is making mistakes, ignoring syptoms etc.
Unfortunately this does affect some people but it is a very small number.

The key is to find one you have faith in and also not be afraid to ask for a second opinion if you have a concern not being addressed. If you aren't happy find one that inspires confidence.

The bottom line is we dont have an option but to trust them with the most valuable things we have. There really isnt a viable alternative.