Doctors, what are the dead giveaway signs that someone is faking it?

[@tessiepinkman]

I agree with the sentiment that anyone working in a medical setting should act as if it's a *real* issue until there's undeniable evidence of the opposite. Rather treat people for things they do not need, than to risk dismissing someone who *really* needs that help. That one dismissal can lead to a lifelong fear of asking for help again. I think people working with mental health should act similarly. SIMILARLY, not exactly the same. There are obvious differences. But they should never dismiss someone's problems in any way, shape or form - perhaps help them find what's really bothering them in cases of malingering _(like with the cases where young people try to fake DID)_ but don't ever dismiss them entirely. Something is wrong for them to be there. That's just my view on this whole thing :)

[@nemomagnum]

Not believing a patient can also lead to lifelong complications or even death. So yeah, I agree

[@NeoStef]

Totally agree! Also, faking medical symptoms can also be a sign of other struggles like mental illness or addiction. It's better to be safe than sorry, after all they are responsible for the patients wellbeing. ;w;

[@techguydilan]

I'm one of the patients who emotionally suffered due to being dismissed and not taken seriously. Then when I was finally able to get Dr's to agree to do tests, I confuse the OR techs when I insist on transferring myself to the wheelchair while all drugged up from a procedure. The messed up system they're a part of contributed to that stubbornness. I don't trust them.

[@dreamwolf7302]

hooo boy, theres no right answer here. I work in medicine, and there are soo many things that could go wrong by treating them without confirming diagnosis. You treat someone for a stroke, who hasnt had one, and now you have a patient on blood thinners, who not only doesnt have a clot, but now, they are bleeding out because they didnt actually have a stroke, but they do an ulcer.

[@techguydilan]

@@dreamwolf7302 treating without testing isn't a good solution to it. I get what OC is saying. Even trying to get in to get tested for a lot of things these days is so difficult and lengthy that a lot of patients are dying or losing trust in the medical system. I know, I'm one of them who's lost a lot of trust in the system. Also patients who are faking it do it because they're experiencing or have experienced trauma, loneliness, or neglect. They need a counselor after it's been proven they're faking, not a scolding. And definitely not to be marked a "drug seeker" so that they will be backlogged so long their bones heal wrong from injuries. Edit: I think more healthcare workers and possibly a rework of the system is a better solution. More to go around and more optimized prioritization.

[@cheyanngluck8194]

I had a "You're faking it" story. I had just bought a new mattress since my old one was going. By myself I brought my old one down and new one up two flights of stairs. By the time I got the new one up I felt a pain in my side. I thought it was a pulled muscle since I was straining myself. Eventually it went away after some days and I went about life like usual. Then about a week later that pain suddenly came back with a vengeance. Still my stubborn but didn't go to the hospital. I have PCOS so I figured it was just a bad cyst. But by the end of the month I was in so much pain. First hospital I went to is right behind my house. I could literally walk there and they turned me out claiming I was faking it. I was hunched over in tears, not even able to get sleep from the pain. Next day my mom drives me to a different hospital and the gave me enough Morphine to drop a horse and it did nothing. I now know I'm just like my mom, neither of us can process morphine. So some other painkiller later I'm in mild comfort and they continue trying to figure out what's going on. My blood tests finally come back showing extremely high white blood cells and I'm rushed in for surgery. Turns out my ovary had a 7lb tumor and my straining with the mattresses caused an ovarian torsion. My ovary was without oxygen for so long it started to decompose inside and my immune system was literally fighting to the death. I was going septic. And that first hospital accused me of faking. They sent me home to die.

[@NH.....]

thats malpractice holy cow

[@ΡΙΖΟΣΚΡΑΒΒΑΡΙΤΗΣ]

Dear internet stranger where is the nearest lawyer

[@KinichIsTheOne]

You should sue!!!

[@AndrewWilsonOz]

I went to hospital with extreme low back pain. The doctor said there was nothing wrong with me, and sent me home. The pain was from a burst disk. I ended up partially paralysed for six months, all because the doctor really didn't give a sh*t, and was incompetent. I was in to much pain at the time, I couldn't fight for my rights to proper health care. Welcome to Australian emergence care!

[@dreamwolf7302]

unfortunately, back pain is the number reason given for most drug addicts. Doctors can get slammed with malpractice lawsuits for giving addicts pain meds. But if we dont give them, we risk a situation like yours. Damned if we do, damned if we dont. My patients are already dead by the time they get to me, so i dont need to worry as much. Although there was a close call with a 'corpse' that came down, where the patient had not died, but their heart slowed to the point the machines couldnt pick up on it. but well, when the corpse starts to bleed actively after a small incision...i know...

[@dzebra]

I had a big prolapsed disc in my 20s. I was in so much pain down my leg and pins and needles going into my foot. It went undiagnosed for around 6 months because my GP was convinced that it was "all in my head" and refused to refer me to a specialist because I was "wasting NHS time and money." When I finally got an MRI, the physio found a big prolapsed disc. I was 22-23 and I couldn't walk and everyone thought I was faking it! 3 months after my diagnosis, I developed caudia equina syndrome (a rare medical emergency which can be a complication of prolapsed discs which can cause permanent paralysis) but the doctors at my hospital were convinced that it was just "stress". It wasn't until my dad and uncle got involved that I actually got seen by a specialist who immediately sent me for an emergency operation. Thankfully my caudia equina didn't progress very quickly so my long term problems from it are relatively mild (although still disabling) compared to what could have happened. It's wild to me that doctors were willing to gamble my health on a "it could be stress"

[@miniveedub]

My son came off his quad bike, was thrown over an embankment and realised he’d done something to his back because of the severe pain. His friends called an ambulance, he was placed on a stretcher and taken to hospital. After a look at his shaved head and tattoos the ED doctor decided he was just there for the pain drugs and kept telling him to get up and walk. Fortunately he also followed protocol and sent him for an X-ray because once the results came back it was a very different story. Suddenly instead of being told to just get up and walk he was placed on a back board and transferred to the spinal unit of another hospital. He had completely shattered one vertebra and cracked his pelvis. He should have been on a back board for the original journey to the hospital. He spent months in a brace and fortunately suffered no serious long term effects. He could have ended up paraplegic because of a doctor’s stereotyping.

[@solidstate9451]

I went to hospital with extreme leg pain. But when I lay down it didn't hurt. Doctor didn't believe me. I refused to go. Turned out: severe slipped disc with no motoric issues. Just severe pain.

[@rinpaisys]

Unfortunately its still pretty common for women not to get proper medical treatment because of a bias that still exists that essentially boils down to “diagnosed with being a woman” and worse yet there are so rarely consequences for the doctors and/or nurses and/or surgeons who do this no matter what happens to the patient as a result.

[@felixhenson9926]

Yeah I'm a disability advocate who lives with chronic pain and illness. I'm assigned female at birth tho I am non-binary but ofc since I've not medically transitioned as far as the medical system is concerned I'm a woman. It's amazing when I speak to disabled men living with chronic pain how different our experiences are.

[@Liquethemodel]

Yup it’s why my uterine fibroids were were dismissed as cramps for 3 years

[@samanthadelahunt3698]

I had an eating disorder for 10 years and when I was down to 80 lbs my doctor asked me what I was doing and congratulated me on my low BMI...

[@airconditionedBreeze]

That doctor, IMO, should not be a doctor.@@samanthadelahunt3698

[@ferretqueen2908]

Yeah that's why despite suspecting endometriosis and spending every period doubling over in pain and being on the verge of vomiting I've still never been tested when I've asked multiple times.

[@Myremec]

The one with the hearing thing? The audiologist one? *The kids would say ‘no’ when they ‘didn’t hear it’.* Outing themselves.

[@oliviaholt7065]

Thanks, my dumbass had to check the comments to figure out why. I was just looking too closely at the actual procedure rather than the actual controversy coming with telling the doctor you can't hear.

[@a41randomglitch38]

to be fair if i was told that i would wait a min and if i didn't hear anything i'd say no so i'm not sure how that works. like if i heard it i'd say yes but if i heard no sounds after the amount of time i thought they should have did the sound i'd say no.

[@Aroacerat]

The idea is you cant hear the instructions and wouldnt know to say no, but yeah, id have probably just said no anyway after guessing at what im meant to do

[@a41randomglitch38]

@@Aroacerat oh yeah ok i guess i'm was only thinking of my experience with my hearing loss. i have significant hearing loss in one ear and almost completely deaf in the other. the bone in my ears don't vibrate. i can hear much better if sound is coming from a certain angle. so, if i were in the kids' situation i would probably be able to make out enough to understand intructions but i would not hear most sounds. but i see what you mean, i just think they should back careful bc some kids could be experiencing the kind of loss i do.

[@JamieJosef]

@@a41randomglitch38I imagine the kids say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ after every tone without the prompt question being reasked, showing that they actually could hear them

[@PWNsoldier]

I work in medicine. My professional opinion is that if a person is presenting to a doctor or other medical professional, they have an unmet need. It's generally the thing they say it is. If definitive proof is found that it isn't that, then it's the job of the MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL to figure out what it is. Not the fault of the patient for "faking".

[@isatq2133]

Fix your workplace. Do better.

[@etherraichu]

Yeah that thread on reddit went off the rails really fast. It was supposed to be only about people who were *blatantly* faking.

[@Kammyhaa]

You ever been in a court room

[@sarnxero2628]

I had Pancreatitis and eventually had my gall bladder removed. It was the worst pain I have ever experienced. When i went to the hospital they did not initially believe me and kept me waiting forever but since the pain started it got worse and worse and worse and by the time i was in the hospital i was literally writhing on the floor and rocking back and forth and screaming. The nurses thought i was being "dramatic". They finally gave me something and it was amazing how much better i felt almost instantly. The nurse who gave it to me literally rolled their eyes at me. I come from a family that has 7 nurses in it and that day i lost a ton of respect for all health care workers. I will never feel that awe and respect i used to for them. There is no excuse for the callousness i experienced from those nurses and later the doctors. After the doctors confirmed i had pancreatitis they kept asking me how much i drink, did i binge drink before the pain happened etc etc. Multiple times, like i caused it and binge drinking was the only reason. At that time i did not drink alcohol at all. That male nurse who rolled their eyes all me tho. I will never forget your face. I still hate you.

[@netajones2098]

Yeah, I got the "do you drink alcohol, how much" question recently, from the er doc, hospitalist, and his attending and interns, because my liver levels were quite high. And I told them all, repeatedly that no, I haven't drank in 20 years and when I did it wasn't much. They didn't believe me, so finally I said fine, test me for ethanol right now, oh it's negative, imagine that. Turns out they were high because of a some mede I was on when I was recently in the hospital. The intern was the worst, he was super rude to me and other patients my whole hospital stay. I'm literally old enough to be his mother and he treated me like I was a 5yrold. He was totally different when his boss was around though, but I told his boss about his attitude to their patients, cause I don't play with that.

[@baduuumch]

I have a genetic condition called EDS which is well known for being underdiagnosed. The whole community is often told they’re faking it/ it’s just anxiety and it takes on average 10 years to be diagnosed after symptoms start. I’ve had symptoms since I was around 5, but wasn’t diagnosed until I was 19. I’d been told so many times by GPs, emergency care staff, paramedics, specialists that I was faking it that I have no confidence in the medical system anymore. It took 14 years for someone to take me seriously, and because it took so long, I have irreversible damage to my body that could’ve been prevented if actually treated. I can’t eat well, I have heart problems, breathing problems, frequent infections, and I’m confined to a wheelchair. Most of that was preventable. And the truckload of medical trauma that came with that is something I still struggle with. Also my parents were investigated for child abuse on 4 separate occasions over 10 years because of my symptoms (that’s common in the community as well). Either I was faking it, or I was being abused. Not a single doctor actually listened to me. Please please please listen to patients. We know our bodies best.

[@echotango4591]

There’s no treatment for EDS so tell me how it was preventable?

[@brage4767]

no cure thats true, but things could have been done. for example, they could have a valid excuse to not participate in physical activities in school , they could have been put on painkillers and other forms of support and resources on how to prevent further damage@@echotango4591

[@gimygaming8655]

I almost cried reading this.... EXACTLY MY STORY. When I was 15 I had my entire pelvic organs fall out of me. I didn't eat for over a year, only drank 8oz of water a week, and was on the toilet for 7 hours straight every night and 40+ times during the day. Went to multiple specialist who refused to help.... we had to move states to get surgery. They tried to say my mom was "abusing" me by getting an "unnecessary surgery." All she was trying to do was save my life Once we returned to our original state, they did genetic testing and found m EDS (myopathic EDS) a total of like 14 ish people have that subtype of EDS. I now have trouble remembering things because of prolong starvation, dehydration, and sleep deprivation. All because they wouldn't help fix the issue! Ever since the surgery I have been happy. I struggle with intense pain most of the time, but better than actively dying with no food, water, or sleep. People with EDS are VERY often misdiagnosed or under diagnosed. Reading what you wrote sounded VERY CLOSE to what I went through! I no longer have trust in the medical system here in Texas. Recently had my bladder prolapse very slightly again, and it was the EXACT same thing. They refused to treat me altogether.

[@gimygaming8655]

​@echotango4591 maybe not for the original poster, but this my experience... while EDS doesn't have a cure, there's ways to prevent it from progressing. I had my entire pelvic organs fall out when I was 15. It lead to extreme starvation, dehydration, and sleep deprivation. If they had given me surgery in the state I resided in, I wouldn't have permanent brain damage that causes me to zone out, forget things, not hear as well, no more hunger cues or thirst cues, and depleted muscle mass. Instead I had to go to another state and wait another 6 months of not eating, drinking 8oz a week, and being on the toilet for 7+ hours straight every night and 40+ more times during the day. Within that six months, I nearly died. I was as thin as bones and could no longer stand on my own without collapsing. If the state I was in preformed the surgery, I wouldn't have all the lasting effects that occurred. I would have been able to start eating, drinking, and sleeping a LOT sooner. So while EDS isn't treatable, things can be prevented

[@felixhenson9926]

Fellow EDSer (maybe?)! I'm sorry that was your experience, I was diagnosed at 24 I think. Tbh I don't think it's the correct diagnosis and it's actually lupus and I'm just hypermobile so I'm still on my journey to getting a correct diagnosis.

[@techguydilan]

Every time I seek healthcare I get gaslit and just scheduled so far out I may as well not have an appointment anyway. One doctor marked me for being a drug seeker when I was 18 years old. Still battling that label 13 years later. Scheduling offices are the worst to deal with when one has that label on their file. "You frequently go to the ER for asthma... 5 months until you can consult with a pulmonologist." ... "You can't get me in any sooner?" ... "8 months."

[@tinnasell4161]

As a 15-year-old I faked having depression 'cause I did not want to go to school. Turned out, I did not fake it. I did have anxiety due to the prospect of graduating into the unknown which later developed into depression.

[@angryunicornproductions2633]

So many teens i knew who were genuinly depressed expressed it in a way that ppl online would call fake but the ppl i knew who acted that way were actually depressed and just coping in unhealthy ways

[@cro7122]

Yeppp. As an adult in therapy I broke down a few years ago and tearfully confessed I had been lying about my history of severe depression. My therapist was lovely, said it didn't matter, I was in therapy for a reason and so long as the work we were doing was helping, it was all good. One year later and I was hospitaled for severe suicidal ideation. Turns out I was depressed for the last decade, but didn't believe that my suffering was significant enough, so I "lied" about the severity for some much needed attention. Nowadays, I figure whether or not someone is telling the truth, if they are asking for help, they need help. Just might not be the exact help they're asking for.

[@Ilivepuppys]

@@angryunicornproductions2633 the problem is teens self diagnosing depression and than telling people online they are depressed like no, its a sickness and you go to the doctors and get diagnosed since like many illnesses not everyone has depression and sometimes people can copy depression symptoms online which I use to see a lot in my school, more from my friend and yes she was faking she even told me when I called her out for her bullshit. She even would copy what I told her about myself to get people at school to feel bad for her, so yes it does happen and yes faking stuff for sympathy is a problem too but its not depression

[@MeloraCarabas]

I am here to learn how not to be accidentally thought of as a liar. Surprised at how many people also experience being mistrusted regularly.

[@echotango4591]

Just tell the doctor your symptoms without googling it before hand and dont exaggerate to garner sympathy. We know when you’re trying to manipulate us and it makes us trust you less- we’re humans.

[@pjmacinnes831]

​@@echotango4591Boy, have I got news for you. I went into the hospital for hemorrhagic ovarian cyst. It ruptured while I was there. I was given a CAT scan to confirm this. Yet, I was treated like a drug seeker the entire time. The biggest drug I've ever done in my life was Advil. I wasn't screaming. I wasn't having a tantrum. I was sweating and shaking from the pain and merely asked for something that would help. I was giving the choice of Tylenol or morphine. Nothing in between was offered. I told the nurse that I had never had anything as strong as morphine and asked what kind of side effects it might have. She very flippantly told me "Well, you must not really be in pain, then." Right. Because a gigantic cyst just exploded in my body. My gyno was FURIOUS when I told him how I had been treated.

[@retarra2308]

@@echotango4591I have severe lower back pain and there are times when I can't walk (my legs won't hold me and control of movement is limited). I keep having doctors not believe me. Don't be arrogant, y'all apparently don't always know, because the number of people accusing me of faking is ridiculous (usually it's "you're too young to have this problem," I've also gotten the "you're just anxious and having panic attacks"), and I'm not the only one. It's especially prevalent with female patients. People deal with things like pain differently, just because we aren't screaming and sobbing doesn't always mean there's nothing there, and the presence of it doesn't mean we're exaggerating. (PS I used your exact method, still didn't work, had to use Google afterwards to even learn ways to try to manage the pain)

[@thatonewitch]

​@@echotango4591 Even then there's still cases where the doctor doesn't believe someone when they're not faking it (usually happens to women)

[@echotango4591]

@@thatonewitch sure, not all doctors are great or perfect and when two humans interact things can go awry and miscommunications can happen and people do have biases that come into play. However, no algorhythm will be able to replace doctors just yet because the role of the good doctor is to sort the signal from the noise of what the patient is telling them- getting it wrong is bad, but it happens because it’s not easy.

[@Avrysatos]

Got told I was faking it when I said I want them to fix the pain, not give me painkillers. Tell me why I can't breathe from pain and how we can stop that. They asked my pain level. "more than when I had a plate in my ankle." I begged them to do scans or something. After 18 hrs in an er bed I got a scan. After 24 hrs she couldn't draw blood and I now had a pounding headache in addition to the severe abdominal pain and asked the nurse if I died in the er because they think I'm a drug addict despite a documented history of avoiding painkillers can my parents sue even though I'm in my 30s? (Never got an answer to that) She must have lit a fire under the nurses in the er as they got me IV fluids and a cup of ice chips. I was content to wait for the scan results. And after 28 hours they moved me to non er bed to await gallbladder removal. They dragged their feet initially thinking I was hyperventilating on purpose to try to get drugs. And that's only the start of that nightmare stay. But the silver lining is I got my gallbladder removed right before the 2020 lockdown. I didn't think about it until I read an article about someone with my same problem dying in the er in 2021 because of hospital overflow.

[@Lexiz2902]

When I was 19, my mom rushed me to the ER because I was vomiting and in the worst pain I’ve ever felt. We get to the ER, and I sit in the waiting room crying and writhing for hours until I’m seen. By the time I’m seen, the pain has faded. They don’t bother to run a single test or even touch me. Just told me it’s GERD and sent me away with some Pepsid. The next night, same exact thing. We rush to the ER, and because I’m a readmit, they triage me ASAP. We get to a room, they give me some morphine, and a different doctor comes to see me. He asks a few questions, pokes at a few places on my belly, and diagnoses gallstones on the spot. Sent me up for ultrasound to confirm, and I was in emergency surgery within a few hours. Gallstones are NOT common in a 19 y/o, so maybe that’s why they didn’t believe me, but still, if they believed me the first time I could’ve avoided another bout of agony and a second trip to the ER. Don’t even get me started on the gaslighting that happened to my sister with her endometriosis. Once they finally opened her up, her internal organs were massacred with adhesions.

[@ms.krueger2660]

I went to the ER with horrible pain. My Mom from her experience told them to check for gallstones. They gave me a shot for pain and I went home. Was back the next night. I was 28 and had just had a baby. It was my gallbladder. They don’t listen!! They refuse to check!! My son was twenty two months old and swollen all over. I took him to the ER and they gave him a shot for the swelling, said it was probably a bug bite and sent us home. That was a Friday. By Monday he was much worse. Took him to his doctor and had to rush to the hospital. His kidneys were failing. He had Nephrotic Syndrome caused by the strep virus. He battled that for 13 years and finally got off all meds. Hes 23 now and it could come back. So scary!! ER doctors are stupid. They don’t want to be bothered. They give you a shot and send you home!!

[@Lexiz2902]

@@ms.krueger2660 So sorry you both went through that! It’s true- they really do just want to send you on your way. The doctor that actually admitted me and diagnosed me correctly was great. Gallstones aren’t even hard to diagnose!! You palpate a certain area, you ask about symptoms and pain, and you get an ultrasound for confirmation. But no one wants to deal with that. Unless you’re coming in for a trauma, ER doctors mostly don’t care.

[@mane53017]

GALLSTONES AT 19?

[@Lexiz2902]

@@mane53017 yup. Probably why I was misdiagnosed and sent home the first time. I had like… multiple 3mm gallstones. Very painful. I’m 21 now and doing better :)

[@aubreymorgan9763]

sadly women are often ignored by medical professionals. I don't really bother anymore outside of pre-existing conditions i'm on meds for, i only do the follows needed to keep my prescriptions active. i've been in constant pain for 3 years and went to 2 doctors and a physical therapist and 'nothing is wrong with me', i've had a high white blood cell and inflammatory markers for a constant 6 years now (and i always feel sick with cold symptoms) but 'i'm perfectly fine'.

[@jessicaolson490]

Maybe see an allergist. They would be more specialized. A lot of our medical research also tends to ignore any condition that's not going to kill you, which leads to a lot of things just unknown. 😣 But yeah I found out I'm really allergic to wheat when I did a specialty diet for something else and for the first time in my life my abdomen didn't hurt. I basically hadn't realized my whole life it was pain until it was gone... I just thought that's what it felt like from digestion. By the way it also caused inflammation all over my body which contributed to my skin always being itchy, my sinuses were always full like I had seasonal allergies, and I have really high inflammation. No doctor even thought of something in my diet causing my issues... Had to go on a trend diet to figure it out. Now that I know what it is, I feel like if I had seen an allergy specialist they probably would have been able to figure it out. In fact I go to one in February to see if it's a true allergy, cuz I've actually had some mild symptoms of anaphylaxis in the past too. (And as a nurse I totally ignored it and just took lots of Benadryl) 😶

[@aubreymorgan9763]

@@jessicaolson490 i did. i'm fine. just sick constantly and repeated infections

[@Sight-Beyond-Sight]

For those accused of faking it: Now you know why they have weapon bans for those buildings.

[@oougahersharr]

I never ask for pain meds as a first request when going to a doctor, especially an emergency doctor. Recently I was struck with pain and severe vomiting (turned out to be a kidney stone). Having been a medical professional, I was able to run through the symptoms and determined it was indeed a kidney stone. I decided to try to wait it out, knowing that most likely that's what I'd be told to do. But with vomiting every twenty minutes, I was getting very dehydrated. I couldn't keep anything down and the pain was horrendous . . . and I was exhausted after four hours of this. So, I had a friend bring me to the ER. They asked what was wrong, and I told them I thought it was a kidney stone. Asked if I'd had one before, and I said I couldn't recall it (I have a brain injury that wiped a lot of memories). I described my symptoms and the nurse responded in a terse, not very happy voice. She sent me to wait int he waiting room. I was trying not to throw up. Vital signs nurse took me in, asked the same questions. I responded the same way, and she gave me the discontented, not so friendly reaction, too. By now I'd figured out they'd looked at my medical records and decided I was a frequent flier due to the many injuries/ diagnoses I had. So, I added, for good measure, "I was a combat medic." The attitude suddenly changed. Not because I'm prior military, but because I was medical staff at one point so knew what the symptoms were and could semi-diagnose myself. They put me in a cubical right in front of the nurse's station, which pleased me as they could see I was really having troubles with the entire pain/ vomit thing. I kept vomiting every twenty minutes or so. A nurse came in to check on me, I gave her the run down and she left again. Still not treated, just observed. By now I was lying over the bed, standing up sort of, and begging God to help me. Then, the pain eased, and I was able to lay on the bed, but kept my left side off the bed. As the doctor walked in, he looked skeptical seeing me quiet and resting. I told him the symptoms but that the pain was at a tolerable three at the moment. He asked what I wanted them to do, expecting me to say pain meds. I surprised him. I said, "I need rehydration. An IV bolus. Then something to stop this vomiting, because I am beyond dry heaves onto bile now. And, if you can take care of figuring out if it IS a kidney stone so I can get this fixed, please help me. Somewhere in there, if you want to give me pain meds, I won't refuse." Then the pain ratcheted up, rather quickly, back to a seven through ten. I had been talking and wriggling and reacting without paying much mind. But as soon as I ended, I started muttering to God again and slid off the bed to hobble around and lean over and such. The doctor watched, frowning, looking puzzled. Then I gasped, "I was a combat medic." He immediately nodded and hurried out. A nurse came back and did the IV, but missed the vein. Instead of taking it back out, she fished for it. I never made a peep, willing her to find my vein so I could get the fluids I need. She then left and I was getting fluid, but again, vomiting. Still nothing in my stomach. It took three different nausea meds and two different pain meds to calm things down to tolerable. CAT scan showed left side kidney stone, right side ovarian cyst. Passed the stone two days later. Never ask for pain meds first. They assume you are a frequent flier.

[@jessiefitzgerald4636]

I've had several kidney stones. There were a few of those times where they would give me Tylenol because they figured I was faking. I'm pretty sure I get judged a lot on my piercings and tattoos as well but that's just my own perspective.

[@dreamwolf7302]

I'm a pathologist (NP not MD) formerly an ED nurse. I also have a congenital defect of my kidneys, meaning i have been getting kidney stones since i was 3 (2/yr-2/wk, depending on a lot of things) as well having epilepsy AND Hemiplegic migraines. I had a colleague accuse me of seeking drugs in the ED. Xray tech still did the imaging and they showed my kidneys full of stones, most of them too large to pass on my own. When the colleague who accused me, came back to check on me, they were suddenly much more polite and then the Urologist came in, greeted me by name and introduced me, a little too gleefully, as "A published medical professional, with a background in chronic illness and psychology." The urologist was one of my former professors from college.

[@zakosist]

Its horrible that people with such emergencies arent taken seriously right away and have to continue being in excruciating pain, and possibly not getting the treament they need before its too late. And they only treated you because you were a medic? What are "ordinary" people supposed to do? Disturbing. Also cant the doctor help to remove kidney stones directly? Ive heard they can break up the kidney stones into thinner pieces. In my opinion that should be among the first thing they do, after re-hydrating to ensure you wont die of course

[@namibjDerEchte]

It's funny because the common pain med you'd get in Germany is banned by the FDA for reports of chronic and even just substantially extended use having had instances of shutting down production of certain white blood cells that are needed to prevent a bacterial infection sprouting from a stray bacterium wiggling into the body. Notably, this med doesn't make you high. AFAIK you're literally allowed to drive a car while on it, that's how little cognitive impact it has. Oh, and if you don't abuse it by using it longer than a couple days at most, there are no unusual severe risks. Like just the usual allargy risks.

[@Illusion517]

Threads like these make me angry. So many doctors fall into the trap of just assuming anyone is faking if the symptoms don't match what they expect.

[@kawag6356]

Exactly, and it’s even worse for autistic people.

[@MehRissa]

After a femoral hernia repair, I woke up in recovery struggling to breathe and the nurses kept telling me I was fine or that it was just a side effect of the anesthesia. I was so tired and just wanted to fall back to sleep but I thought if I fall asleep and am not awake actively focusing on breathing I’ll die. I was discharged and came back 3 hours later with double collapsed lungs. It also took them hours to even take me back for an X-ray. The surgeon had no idea how it happened and now I have asthma 🎉

[@hot_soup4319]

Yeah the ones about the Nurse/Doctor not believing them hits close to home. Lemme tell you a little story: So when I was a baby I had a cough, so Mom listened to her gut and brought me to the doctor. She gets to the doctor, and ol' doc basically diagnoses her with "Worried Mother Syndrome" IE code for: "he's fine, you're being dramatic." Days pass and everyday she brings me to the doctor and gets dismissed while and I get worse and worse. Eventually I'm stark red, and basically a crying tomato. Well Mom brings me back to the doctor, and ol' doc finally figures he should do his job because he can't just dismiss the red baby this time. Doc comes back and the verdict is... *Drum roll...* I had Scarlet Fever. Yep, *that* Scarlet Fever. I could have died, and all because this doctor figured my Mother was just being dramatic. Even if he was right, even if there was nothing wrong, he still could've taken 10 minutes to run a test or two to ease my worried Mom, but he couldn't even be arsed to do that.

[@zakosist]

Parents probably know most of the time if something is wrong with their baby, they are the ones observing it almost all the time and can notice if something is off. Ive had similar experiences with dying pets and knowing they were sick a good while before my mom would acknowledge it. Seeing the signs is much easier than getting solid proof. I dont have a car/cant drive and would depend on her to drive me to the vet, it always happened to late. One time I had to directly kill my own guinea pig (crushed its head with a rock) because it was clearly in great pain and dying, it was a terrifying experience but its death was most likely instant. Your doctor was definetly wrong for not checking

[@Vendavalez]

According to about half the doctors I’ve dealt with? Being in their office. They are going to get paid anyway and, if they already have more patients than they can handle, why make any kind of effort?

[@KK-my6hw]

All it takes is one doctor putting a note on you to make everyone else think you are faking. I had a cracked molar I needed to get removed and asked for them to do it without anything for pain just because I don't like the feeling of them. It was technically surgery since they had to cut it out. Afterwards they ended up having to grind down the bone pretty aggressively before stitching it up and they asked it I wanted something for the pain, but I honestly felt better as soon as the pressure released from the abscess. The entire time got looks I found odd whenever I turned down anything. It turned out at some point my sister had gone to the hospital and given my information and was looking for pain meds, which ended up being noted down as me. Apparently one doctor not believing you can turn into everyone else assuming you are faking afterwards.

[@sinaelb2596]

I really appreciate you, putting in examples of people who had a serious illness but weren't taken serious. That is truly scaring even if it doesn't leave permanent health damage.

[@EricLing64]

Fortunately the only time I've ever been in the hospital as a patient was as an infant, so I have basically no memories of it, only the surgical scar. Think I had a hernia or something. According to my parents I was crying/wailing a lot louder than a child should, which was doubly strange since apparently both me and my older sister weren't big criers as babies. Almost curious what that must have sounded like, baby cries are already almost earsplitting.

[@consumingkazoos]

banshee scream meets tornado siren, maybe?

[@stookinthemiddle]

Not being believed is one of the worst feelings. You generally go to a hospital as a last resort, so when they don't believe you, it's soul crushing. You even start to doubt yourself.

[@asdatrollys8944]

I have almost no hearing in my right ear and chronic tinnitus. I’m a mechanic so to be insured in the workshop i and all the other techs have to have a yearly health check to make sure we haven’t developed anything like hearing loss, dermatitis or white finger. When I first started at my current company the doctor straight up told me that I was lying because I just wanted special treatment… my brother in Christ I don’t want a pay bonus or anything like that… I’m explaining why I’m wearing what looks like an earphone (it’s not) in one ear.

[@rositchi5889]

The story about the Narcan hits home for me. My BF's appendix ruptured and he had to eventually move him to the ICU from a heart attack that they also downplayed. Not only did they think he was faking (def not) they questioned why Narcan worked when they gave him a bunch of medications at once and he began to go unconscious. I was the only one that realized something was terribly wrong and called the nurses. They had the nerve t ask if he had been on any drugs just because we were black! He had already been in the hospital about a week before he was moved to ICU one and two, medical drugs are still drugs that can do harm/cause someone to OD. Not sure how these people are nurses and doctors SMH.

[@midnight_x_edits]

I hate to break it to you but medical staff doesnt give a shit if your black we treat you the same either way im sure a white person has had the same thing your boyfriend had and had the same treatment AND THEY WERE WHITE!

[@RandomBlackBox]

As a child I broke the lunate bone in my wrist while being goal keeper. Teachers and the other kids told me I faked it. The surprised faces they made the next day from seeing me with a cast were just gold. The bone was broken cleanly in half. Any movement did hurt like hell and I had to hold my hand as still as possible. I think I was sitting on a bench for 40 minutes before they called my mom which took me to a doctor.

[@montheoddball1244]

As someone with DID I get so mad at people who are faking it to be trendy. I had it before the trend and I'll have it after but I won't be belived as much thanks to this.

[@angryunicornproductions2633]

Most ppl arent faking ppl just use the “DID is a trend” excuse as a get away with abelism free card they do it with all disabilitys not just did they do it with adhd autism and even phisical disabilitys bc THEY see disability as a trend and project that onto the disabled ppl

[@gimygaming8655]

Same thing with my autism. I hate the new trend where it is VERY obvious they are faking it. It makes people whom actually have it not be believed

[@kawag6356]

@@gimygaming8655 I haven’t come across anything like this yet, I can usually tell if someone is faking, autism is not one that people usually fake having, as the stigma is so strong still.

[@kawag6356]

@@gimygaming8655also remember, women and girls present differently.

[@gimygaming8655]

@kawag6356 I see it everywhere in my old school. All the girls are like "I'm autistic and trans and DID" as a trend. I was in the special Ed and KNEW they were faking. Since I am very much "passing" they don't know this, but I'm well aware of their status. Granted they may be undiagnosed, but still.... if you ain't professionally diagnosed, don't say you have something. Like I think I may be adhd, but I ain't gonna say I have it cause I haven't been diagnosed. It would be different if they said "I think I have autism" vs "I'm autistic" to try to be cute. Vs different and it is obvious in their presentation. I'm also female. Granted I know masking is a thing, but it is still obvious from one autistic to another to easily identify each other masking or not. These people faking it aren't.

[@trouble-ry8kf]

Went to the emergency room screaming crying in pain. They did the scans and the doctor came in and said nothing is wrong your fine. I think the guy was either a student or resident because the nurse looked at him in disbelief.

[@terrahewitt3116]

5 years of off and on extreme abdominal pain, bloating, nausea the works. bad enough to have to need to go to the ER at least once a week. regular dr kept saying it was either cramps, constipation or an uti...finally got a different dr and turns out my gall bladder is completely full of stones...and by stones i mean its a sand bag and im passing them into the bile duct. emeegency surgery and now im fine. but thanks to that lovely period of time i am labeled as medication seeking at the local hospital and they treat me like crap even now

[@zakosist]

Thats horrible. The doctors are just terrible for labeling someone as drug seeking even after finding diagnosis, and even if they sought drugs before that is very understandable when you are in actual excruciating pain. And the fault was on the doctors for not finding the root cause sooner. Are the doctors corrupt or just stupid?

[@terrahewitt3116]

@@zakosist lazy for the most part

[@tristanfarmer9031]

It's been a long time now, but I got a story for this. I was a patient, not a doc. I, before 1st grade, had broken my left arm three times. First the teacher supervising us did not believe I could not move. After what was apparently around 5 or so minutes of me screaming she caved and called the school nurse who told her I had broken my arm. Then we go to see an actual doctor who believes children just heal faster with no added context or buts. He gives me a sling and I take it off a week early because I "Heal faster" and pulled apart the same break a day later. Then again same doctor makes the same mistake of letting me take off the now cast early and I break it again, this time the break is unstable so they get me under and over for surgery. They put me under and I wake up earlier than I should of. Essentially, right as they where doing the stiches. I now have a terrible long term memory but I still remember being able to see through my arm. Got a cool story and scar out of it though.

[@dreamdev_yt3339]

16:40 YES. As someone who had worked in a preschool/kindergarten as a teacher this is just true. i have seen kids fall of play stuctures FLAT on their back and SLAM the back of their head on the ground. Cry for a bit, then just get back up like nothing happened. and then, other times a kid will stub their toe, and have to be sent home because of how much it hurted.

[@EvelynChesser]

I have SEVERAL "you're faking it" stories. I'm a past drug addict, but I've NEVER been a drug seeker in the hospital EVER. I was on fentanyl/Xylazine. Xylazine withdraw is new territory, doctors and nurses still think that it's opiate withdraw and "it won't kill you" I've come off of opiates MANY times cold turkey and had zero issues. But when I came off this Xylazine shit.... My God. I was in full blown withdraw, and chained to the bed as I was incarcerated. I was terrified. But suddenly I got this feeling that my throat was closing and when that feeling came, I completely seized. All of my muscles clenched, including my jaw muscles just clenched so hard that I actually crushed my own teeth. I couldn't speak, I couldn't SEE. I was completely blind because my eyes rolled into the back of my head and got stuck there for 4 days. I could not for the LIFE of me pull my eyes down. So I stared at the fucking back of my skull for days while going through these waves of muscular clenching that was horribly painful. I had this nurse just staring at me. While I'm going through these clenching episodes, she couldn't be bothered. While I'm sitting there breathing like a pig and gurgling on my own spit. I was fucking terrified. I managed to get out two words "help me". I was CONVINCED this lady was gonna let me die there. She said nothing. And tried the whole "hand drop on face" trick while I'm completely clenched. Since I didn't fucking move she was like "she's fucking with us. Evelyn next time you really need to answer me when I'm talking to you" 😂 Listen I have NO Idea what that neurological NIGHTMARE that was. Idk if it as a seizure, or what. But staring at the fucking sky for days on end while spitting out my teeth all while they laughed at me and accused me of lying, was by far the most traumatic experience I've been through. I'm 13 months clean. Thank God.

[@Puuha1]

I almost died 2 times when was a kid because my parents didnt believe me that i was really sick and bad sick. But i understand why they didnt believe me, i was lying a lot as kid that i dont need to go to school. I really felt bad when doc yelled to my mother that hes gonna call cps

[@LocksAndChains]

I had a teacher in elementary who justifiably didn’t believe me when I said I was feeling ill. I’d lied on a couple occasions to get out of things. Anyway, turns out I had severe pneumonia. She was mortified. Honestly, she was a really cool and kind lady. I’ll just never forget that experience.

[@everliesseproductions]

I had a chronic appendicitis for 4 years. Many doctors told me it was psychological pain and that the scans, showing my swollen appendix, was wrong and that the Lymph nodes were inflamed and that they aggravated the appendix. 4 years later and I got my Gyno to check me for Endometriosis. Since that doesn't show on scans, they have to check by an exploratory surgery. Asked a surgeon to take the appendix since the exploratory surgery would open my lower stomach, and I would already be under anesthetics. Why leave my appendix if I am already under surgery right in that area? The surgeon agreed, took it out, and they later found stones in my enlarged appendix. Since it wasn't 'acute', they couldn't confirm if that was what had been causing me pain... 100% was my appendix, and my stomach is now in shabby shape 5 years later. Prolonged exposure to chronic appendicitis is not something that just goes away and fixes itself overnight. It ruined my stomach walls and strength from the constant strain it exerted to keep my body functioning with a bad organ, causing terrible pain and colon distress.

[@ms.krueger2660]

My Mom was told she needed a psychiatrist because of horrible headaches. Went to several doctors who all told her the same thing. Finally a doctor listened and gave her a shot in her neck and they went away. It was horrible to be told you were faking. My Mom suffered for two years and had two small children at the time. It was so hard on her. I had to help take care of her and my brother and sister. I was a teen. 😢

[@celinewirard7583]

Story 11 : my little sister became nearly deaf before someone found she had a problem because she developped a read-on-lips capacity… So she would have understood what was wanted from her.

[@RoonilWazlibLover]

I have a heart defect and terrible chronic pain from three different conditions. I basically have to be dragged to the hospital whenever I’m really sick even if it’s life-threatening because of how I’ve been treated there and told I was faking in the past. My heart condition is intermittent and doesn’t always show up on my ECG so I’ve had ER doctors accuse me of faking that, even though it’s been documented many times in the past and I have surgical scars from the five surgeries I’ve had for it. With my chronic pain, I’ve basically never gone in unless I haven’t been able to keep down any food or water for days and am severely dehydrated because of it. Still, almost all ER doctors immediately jump to the conclusion that I’m faking it to get meds and are pretty rude to me. I get that there are people that fake it for meds, but there are actually people who really are in pain and desperately need treatment. It’s ridiculous how many health care professionals fail to see that and immediately jump to “everyone’s faking!” And won’t even give a saline IV to help with my obvious dehydration One time I was rear ended and got whiplash which greatly exacerbated my pain symptoms. I went to the ER to get a scan and have it documented and the nurse accused me of faking and taking advantage of the crash to try to get high. And that I was wasting hers and everyone’s time and resources. Luckily I saw my pain management doctor the next day, and he not only confirmed I had a terrible whiplash, but it was so severe, it had ripped the cords of my Neuro stimulator which I had to have yet another surgery for.

[@kittycat6430]

It is horrible to be accused of faking or being overly worried. I’ve had some experiences that I only survived thanks to my mum’s stubbornness. Medical professionals should treat every patient like the real deal until they can prove that they’re faking.

[@Fakejordans...]

I had a doctor ( he was a great guy) who’s entire team was just the scum of the earth. I get headaches because I have a brain tumor and this doctor is a neurosurgeon but every time my parents took me to the Children’s Emergency Room because I’ve been sick for days unable to eat sleep or go to school. Do you wanna know what the nurses said almost every time, they thought that I was faking because by the time we were checked in and actually saw someone it went away mind you Im like twelve when this is happening. A terrible team for a great doctor

[@blackqweenmars]

I’m a person who used to actually inflict and fake injuries and illnesses as a child, possibly undiagnosed factitious disorder. I wanted a broken bone, surgery, glasses, braces, etc and tried to get one. The doctors still treated me well and never accused me of faking or harming myself. I haven’t done anything like that in years after failed attempts but it’s sad but people with serious conditions are being brushed off for faking. Even faking something is signs of a problem. Until they can prove the person wrong they should believe them.

[@x-x4260]

I thought this was just going to be a bunch of storys about kids faking stuff to get out of school but I suppose I had too much faith in humanity

[@beanbag6442]

I had been out with a former friend, getting my check when they started. The longer I waited the worse they got. I was puking stomach bile and couldn’t keep down water at home. By the time I got checked into the ER, I was full puking up everything in my body. I very very rarely get sick to the point of throwing up. I was on my period at this time. The nurses and doctor were treating it as regular period cramps, despite me telling them these were NOT my normal cramps or behaviors when on it. Treated me as if I was only there for pain killers and what not. I did mention it was similar to a UTI I had a few years prior, where I was also experiencing this kind of pain and that it couldn’t be my appendix as that was taken out when I was 8. They did the regular tests and concluded it was just stomach issues, and sent me on my way. Nothing they gave me helped aside from the ondansetron. Thankfully an appointment with my doctor, who is usually booked months out, was available the next day. My doctor has known me for almost 10 years at that point in time, and usually knows I’m very in tune with what is going on with my body. I told him about it, and he prescribed me UTI medications before I even did the pee test. Said the meds that the ER gave me would t have even helped if it is a UTI. Sure enough when they came back, it was positive that I had a UTI. ER doctors didn’t even listen to me once, nor did they get the diagnosis right. Another story, but not mine was my brother had passed out at work a few years ago due to overworking. Now my brother is fairly skinny because he has his dad’s metabolism, but he is also very muscular. Apparently the nurse kept trying to get him to admit he did steroids. Every time he said “I don’t take that,” she would say “it’s ok, it’s safe to tell us if you do” or “we need to know if you do or not for your safety.” And would not believe that he didn’t until my mom and his mom said “he DOESNT take steroids” in a tone that basically told her to F off and stop asking lol

[@karlrovey]

With story 15, they probably listed her as drug seeking or a pain patient early on. That label with follow you for life even if it is proven wrong with an actual diagnosis.

[@techguydilan]

So I'm learning.

[@randomguyontheinternet5030]

the ambulance ride costing 1800 bucks and the fentanyl costing 2 is absolutely bonkers. Like I get it, I live in America and I know our health care is fucked, but when the drug you need is 1/900 the price of the ride you took to get the drug, something is wrong.

[@ezlife4690]

I just want to point out that there are many types of seizures and there's a bit of a stigma surrounding people having them.

[@angryunicornproductions2633]

Oh???

[@18slash21]

I'm not sure if this completely counts, but it definitely ended up a "faking it" story. I used to work in a factory where we drove battery-powered forklifts, and were responsible for changing the batteries with a special pallet jack. Well there was one time where the grab hooks on the pallet jack didn't completely grab onto the holes in the battery, and I ended up dropping it onto the floor (with a loud sound as they were a few thousand pounds, no one got hurt). A complete accident, I hadn't had much experience with the equipment at that point, but absolutely my fault for going too fast. The company sent me up to do an instant urinary drug test, which I wasn't worried about because I was obviously clean. I take it like usual, and give the cup to the guy that comes down to administer them. He came up to me while I was washing my hands and asked me "So, I obviously know this is fake, because it's too cold to be genuine." And I about shit myself because I knew I was clean but any sort of trying to defend myself would be seen as even more guilty. So even with my denying they were about to take it as a positive test and let me go. It took the guy putting the sample in a second drug test cup for him to realize that the temperature strip on that first cup was faulty, because the temperature was correct on the second cup. He told me that in all the years of administering the drug tests, he had never seen a test have a faulty temperature strip.

[@ChaosEnthusiast]

i remember my mom telling me she was talking about something medical with this doctor and she said agressively "im not giving you pain meds" or something along those lines. my mom hadnt even asked for pain meds. :/ doctors a lot of times have assumed my mom wants to get high or something, were thinking its cause shes neurodivergent (which isnt her fault her brain works differently) -_- also i see people fake claim autism all the time, even when the people they are fake claiming have professional diagnosis. a lot of what non autistic people think about autism just isnt true

[@Veltrosstho]

EMS companies in the states are heinous with what they charge. Insurance companies may force these prices, but a lot of the EMS overcharge and underpay.

[@robinkelly1770]

Story 13. Ambulance in South Australia is about $1,400 but is a random person calls it there is no charge. I know this because l had 2 when l had a heart attack (1st 1 called, when they arrive just 5 minutes later they called a 2nd immediately (it was about 8⁰ and l was topless sweating like l had been swimming) so they could have 2 working on me during the ride Cannot speak highly enough of the emt staff. Courteous and efficient. 10 out of 10 every time

[@AndrewWilsonOz]

Unless a hospital calls an ambulance to transfer you, then the ambulance service charges you, the patient. $1400 bill in Adelaide!

[@GiadaBeccari-n9w]

I went to rhe ER because i had a really bad flu, my boyfriend lifted me and drove me because i couldnt even walk. I was vomiting for the effort of coughing so frequently and so violentely, couldn't breath properly and felt generally terrible. Given that i only had the flu they treated me with saline but i didnt get any better. My boyfriend, that works in the medic field, demanded that they run some exam on me and that they give me some medication, and he asked that because i could barely talk. They told me to drink water and let me wait hours before doing a simple blood work, because i was admitted with "just a flu". My CPR level, an indicator of infection, were 214 while the normal number indicating an infection should be "over 10". I was in complete sepsys, and luckily recovered. Turns out my immune system shutted down because two weeks prior i got a spleen infection that somehow distracted my immunes, coupled with a really aggressive form of polmunar virus

[@LunarCatKan]

The adolescent one annoyed me to an extent because when I was around 13-14 (I’m not sure, my memory is fucked) I was frequently dissociating enough that someone I had met who has OSDD (Other Specified Dissociative Disorder) was like “yeah I’m pretty sure you’re dissociating, maybe you’re a system too? Not sure though, definitely get checked by professional’s” and at the time I only knew that DID/OSDD involved dissociating so I thought maybe I had DID/OSDD or something. I eventually met someone with BPD/Borderline Personality Disorder who explained the disorder to me and recognised basically every single common symptom of BPD in me and was like “yeahhh I’m 99% sure you have it, try and get a medical diagnosis if you can” and that’s when I realised that I’m not a system, I was just dissociating so frequently due to stress that I was noticing it and others around me were noticing it and the sheer amount of times I was dissociating was enough for systems to be like “yeah you’re either a system or you have something else that’s causing the dissociation. We’re not gonna judge you for stupid or cringe stuff while dissociating and here’s some tips for managing your life even while dissociating

[@angryunicornproductions2633]

Same like we dont know whats up with our brain but we disociate and have nice voices in here still working with a tharapist to figure out whats up

[@mickeyneinest6525]

Same!!! I am a dx'd system but I knew a fake(actually fake, had false symptom shown on tv such as alters killing each other, being pregnant, etc.) system that CONSTANTLY claimed my gf who has dissociation from BPD and PTSD of being a system.

[@LunarCatKan]

@@mickeyneinest6525 damn, I’ve met a few real/diagnosed systems that weren’t fake and it’s nice knowing other people who also dissociate and don’t judge cringe as hell or weird ass stuff any of us do while dissociating. I remember mentioning to people at the time that I might be a system but honestly not sure and people tried to bully me for “being a fake system” but I never said I was one, just might be one. Sucks that BPD has overlapping symptoms and is somewhat lesser known though, took me nearly half a decade of experiencing every common symptom of BPD before I ever figured out I have it. I’m currently trying to get a diagnosis for it but since I’m still not 18 (year and a half away from being 18) I usually get brushed off for being too young to have it or such ;-;

[@mickeyneinest6525]

@@LunarCatKan this is absolutely true there is a HUGE stereotype against minors when I first found out about my AUDHD and all my other disorders I was taken seriously even WITH the diagnosis until I was an adult I rlly hope it gets better for you and I wish you the best of luck

[@leosv838]

Dx'ed OSDD here. SOOOO many psychs who know nothing about it will go on rants JUST like that commenter, talking about its rarity and alleged 'controversial' nature and then just finish it with "buuut I'm not an expert don't take my word for it *wink wink nudge nudge*" -_-

[@aqis_slip]

Hey! I am a system (person with DID. A person with types of OSDD can also be qualified with the term "system" as well.) and to therapists and psychologists, people who work in that field: Please please please please please please at least hear us out! Even if you *do* think we're faking. Because I had been misdiagnosed 3 times before getting the right diagnosis because nobody would believe us. Dissociative disorders etc. are extremely stigmatized and have only been even researched pretty recently. Give us voices!

[@EllpaFox47]

I am scared of one particular scenario where I may be accused of lying I am asexual (as of writing this) so every time when I answer the question “are you sexually active?” As “no” I’m scared the doctors/nurses won’t believe me, especially since I am approaching the age where that’s more common and people are absolutely going to lie (why would you admit as a teenager that you have sex? That’s embarrassing apparently) edit: I am aware such a scenario is extremely unlikely but the mind isn't always rational

[@complainer406]

FWIW that question never amounted to much. Doctor just wanted to know if we should talk about birth control and whether I needed to start pap smears. They'd send my mom away and assure me it was okay to tell the truth, but never accused me of lying even though I was a "late bloomer". I know anxiety isn't rational, and an anecdote from a stranger doesn't mean much, but I hope you're able to worry a little less at the doctor's office

[@MichaelCS146]

if you're afab, they're still going to do a pregnancy test first before anything else, not bc they don't believe you, but bc it's protocol. It's stupid, but it is what it is. Especially if you have stomach pain. I have crohns disease (it causes mild to severe stomach pain) and have had a complete hysterectomy (aka they took erythang) and I still had a doctor put in a pregnancy test order while I was in the ER once. It was only mildly annoying and honestly hilarious to me at the time bc of the absurdity (and the pain meds I was on). I didn't even know they were doing the test (they always have you pee in a cup for abdominal pain anyways) until it popped up in my test results on MyChart. So it doesn't really matter if they "believe" you (they have no reason not to) it's just a box they have to tick off and it's like a few drops of pee so nbd. Just in case you ever have to have a procedure or scan (I wish you better luck than me, ending the year with about 16-17 CT scans, + dozens of x-rays, + an MRI, etc etc) don't feel like your doctors distrust you or something. They just legally can't make you more radioactive than a glowstick without making sure they aren't also deep-frying a fetus (so glad they figured out how to read my records cause that would've been a lot of cups to fill).

[@jessicaolson490]

Don't worry we don't care if you are aren't sexual active, we're not a priest asking you! It's a basic screening question, and some of the things we do make people think we don't believe them... But it has nothing to do actually with whether we believe what they say or not. For example if you're a woman and come in with abdominal pain, even if you say you have not been sexually active or are a virgin they will still check to make sure you're not pregnant. The simple reason is, literally some people don't know how pregnancy happens, and if somebody is lying and has an ectopic pregnancy, they can die before anybody figures out what's really happening... They can fully believe you but you'll still get checked. (I am both a nurse and asexual 😁) Ps- being an asexual I have a child, and I was married for 10 years, it also doesn't exclude rape. Likewise sometimes they might run a panel that includes STDs because It is safer to run a simple blood test than to miss something like syphilis. Also a lot of those diseases can be caught in other ways, sex is just the most common one...

[@jessicaolson490]

Oh and same if you have a uterus and are going to either have a procedure or take a medicine they would be extremely toxic to pregnancy they will test you regardless of what you say. It has nothing to do with them believing you. Same as when they check your receipt at Costco, they check everyone.

[@3frenchhens818]

I had to bring in a magazine clipping for a new migraine med to get my doctor to prescribe it for migraines that lasted 1-3 days. Taken with Tylenol, it cut the migraine away to a few hours, then on a higher dose to 20 minutes. She had been giving me opoids - not a good idea because (for me) nothing cures a migraine.

[@bevsartsandcrafts715]

I woke from a surgery, in the recovery room, and realised I really needed the loo. The nurse brought me a bed pan, I couldn’t go…at all. She took it away, seemingly annoyed for whatever reason. Later, I asked if I could try again as I was now in pain (having just had abdominal surgery, I didn’t need more pain), I still couldn’t go. The anaesthetist, who I got on really well with, happened to walk past and asked if I was ok. I told him I was dying to go to the loo but couldn’t. He said to the nurse “get me the ultrasound”, did a scan, gave me a picture of my bladder and said to her “get her catheterised now!”. The nurse got into a load of trouble

[@StudioOfAnimationEntertainment]

I've gone to the hospital multiple times this past year for sudden seizures, and it was the other way around in my case. I thought that the doctors were trying to keep me in the hospital and say I had seizures because I was never conscious for em, never tired and they didn't hurt. I, of course, never had seizures before this year, and my only experience with them was from medical shows. I guess when one of the camera'd secguard's showed me their vid of me actively falling off the bed having a seizure did I start to believe them.

[@techguydilan]

Yeah, depending on the type of seizure it is, some of them have the patient not remembering the seizure or a short time after one. Almost like blacking out. Sometimes there's a postictal after a seizure to where the patient will return to where they were before the seizure. So there's hardly any "I was on the floor suddenly." Witnesses are the only way to know if one had a seizure in many situations.

[@julesr6965]

chronically ill. i went seven years with heart failure symptoms. not one single person believed me, no drs, nurses, friends, parents etc. i have pots.

[@Hel-Bee420]

At 13 yrs old I was told repeatedly that the pain in my stomach was a pulled muscle due to an old injury in my right knee. I was in extreme pain so they admitted me but still though I was being dramatic. After 3 days of vomiting, high temp and extreme pain they decided to do blood work and ultrasound. Not long after that they rushed me to surgery were my appendix burst upon opening me up. Another time I was sent home with a massive slash to my palm (a glass bottle smashed while I was holding it) they decided to send me home wrapped up with a massive iodine pad on the wound. I was to go back the next day to repair the tendons. Bad idea as I bled heavily all high while asleep and needed a blood transfusion when I arrived back at the hospital. NHS.. It needs help

[@chocolatefrenzieya]

I've given birth. People definitely feel 10.

[@darrylblanch8463]

An old psychiatrist once told me she had a patient that hit 100% on every test score for type of mental illness the patient claimed. The issue was EVERY ANSWER patient wrote was word for word how Google explains when you type in questions. The last test, which patient wasn't expecting & wasn't allowed phone, had 90% wrong answers but The issue was EVERY QUESTION patient had already answered perfectly (according to Google) but couldn't answer the next day. P.S. the condition patient claimed had nothing to do with memory loss or recall issues. Patient was ordered to take the tests by Centrelink (Australian Welfare & unemployment/pension services). Doctor handed findings into them (as legally required). 3 more psychiatrists later & patient was found guilty of defrauding the government. All 4 (2 of which patient chose) agreed patient was scamming the system & incarcerated.

[@keegangunn1645]

The "kids are invincible" made me remember something, I was about 8 and I was climbing a tree, cut ro 30 seconds later and I had just fallen about 4 feet straight onto my back and was climbing the tree again

[@Guidingsonar]

The pain chart in my eyes have 0 as you feel as if your body is better then ever, (1 being the normal aches and pains), 6 being where your body starts to refuse to move, and 10 being the person was knocked unconscious because of the pain.

[@Veltrosstho]

So, mid point is muscle failure? I never liked number scales. Just point and scream depending on how bad it hurts, I'm sure we can work from there 😂

[@Avrysatos]

I can answer basic questions with a 10. But most chronic pain sufferers can.

[@KaiHenningsen]

@@Avrysatos I'd probably ask something like "OK, what number is the worst I've felt so far?" And probably be rather irritated that they're missing the sarcasm. How on earth am I supposed to connect any specific numbers with that? What would a 10 feel like? While I'm not in a lot of pain, I can reason out that with max pain, I probably couldn't answer stupid questions, so that's not what I have (but when in a lot of pain, I might not be able to reason that out) - not that that's particularly helpful, how does a 9 feel? And for that matter, how much is a 1? A 5? I'm not a medical professional - how do they expect me to come up with a meaningful number? I wouldn't even know where to start.

[@Avrysatos]

@@KaiHenningsen 10 is where you are incoherent from pain. I may be able to give basic information in a 10 but you'll lose me the moment you ask for much more. I prefer describing the pain and how much it hurts too, but i've been told something like anything under 4 probably doesn't impact daily life even if it does not feel great or the things you can do, and 7+ can't function at all. I like to use the old well this hurts more than when they drilled into my broken ankle put it back together with a plate and then gave me painkillers i can't take so I recovered on tylenol. Or This hurts less than when I had a migraine so bad I considered removing my head and threw up from the pain three times but more than when I had to take care of an ingrown toenail myself because I didn't have insurance. Being descriptive. My mother kept giving them numbers that didn't describe her pain. She brought me once to help her explain. When they asked the pain number she said 4. I asked her "But you hurt too much to get out of bed at least twice a week and can't do normal daily tasks many days.. That's not a 4." the doctor took a moment to question her and ... upped her pain medications. She has fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis. Her spine is disintegrating and they've shored it up with metal all the way from like c5 on down. Most doctors do actually want to help you accurately, but sometimes don't realize that there's a communication rift there that isn't being dealt with to allow proper care.

[@aubreymorgan9763]

@@Veltrosstho especially since everyone feels pain differently. i have a friend that had been stabbed with something once, it had to be surgically removed and they asked her pain level and she was like, eh? 2 I guess. i smack my hand on something and i'm screaming with an 8. lol

[@benTi900]

Hearing stories involving ambulance bills makes me feel happy to live in the UK. For emergencies, and the basic hospital care is free, but if an individual wants private care, it’s an option.

[@hiddendesire3076]

For me it was when I had a hangnail removed. The doctor gave me a shot of novocaine, which I had a tolerance to due to how often I had dental work done, and told him one shot wasn’t enough. He also put it too far back, so the toe itself still felt everything. I was in pure agony, spine arching, and spasming from how extreme the pain was. Dumbass didn’t even bandage the wound properly. So the infection that removing the nail was supposed to fix just persisted. It’s been over a fucking decade and it is still infected! The skin has been discolored, and a lot of the sensation in the front half of the foot is dulled. He wonders why I stare daggers at him whenever he sees me at church.

[@BlindStarLily]

I just did a sternul rub on myself, and yeah, don’t do that. They weren’t kidding about it hurting like hell. It doesn’t help that I already bruise like a peach. Now I’ve probably got this black and blue spot developing just above my chest because I’m a dummy :P

[@Wolfie54545]

You are NOT REQUIRED to pay the ambulance bill

[@rSoul-story]

Moms: I always know when you're lying because your ears turn red when you lie. Kids: cover their ears when they lie

[@Tignya]

Not fully related, but the story where the OP had to drink thick water brought up a buried memory. I was in a mental ward a few years ago for a couple weeks. There were many different types of people there, and one was built like a truck, but not entirely in there in the head. He wouldn't talk to anyone, and needed a nurse watching him at all times. I don't know why, but he could only drink thick water. He kept trying to get water in the recreation room, but the nurses kept leading him away. At one point, he became so upset he ripped off the cover on the water cooler, and security had to come in and practically drag him out. He even knocked all the crayons off the table if I remember right. It was pretty scary as I was right next to the water cooler, and he got put in the "dangerous patients" unit for the rest of my stay. Saw nurses restrain him a few times through the doors to that unit.

[@jessicaolson490]

There can be many reasons why you can't swallow properly, but thick and water is given to those that have a weekend swallow for some reason. It can be because their airway doesn't close all the way, it might be that one side is weak like the OP, might be the whole throat is weak... Basically when water is thin it's easy for it to slip it into the wrong pipe, but when it's thickened, to about the thickness of gel you can swallow it and even if there is a little bit of a crack around your glottis it won't sneak past. I like to try things if I can before I give them to people, so I've tried thickened water and juice before, and thicken water indeed is super nasty, something about gel texture and water... It has an aftertaste too. At least if it's juice or something the flavor helps hide it. We can mix it at different thicknesses too, some people have to have super thick water where it's almost like honey or molasses.

[@Gail752]

story 18 "Children are made of rubber." I know my sister isn't, but she can slip on the floor or trip and pop up right as rain. the thing about her that annoys me the most is that I won't be trying to hurt her, not once, I forget my strength a little and she just starts crying and says, with an irritating whine, not really pain, 'ow!', it takes all my self-control not to give her a light smack upside the head for getting me in trouble when it wasn't needed.

[@BoxOKittens]

12:17 you said it right. The guy's heart tissue and surrounding tissue was inflamed, which obviously is very bad. Glad the ultrasound tech wasn't messing around.

[@trixfox45]

Nothing actually terrible but still a lot of pain for me is what I always just have been calling my leg problems (left leg was shorter (which made my entire body uneven ),flat feet,starting to grow x shaped legs and because of what a doctor suggested I didn't use the left leg much so didn't have much muscles) I have always had problems with running for a long time ,it would start to hurt and I just thought it was normal. My family doctor at the time would always just say its growing pains, meanwhile I could always just watch other kids run as much as they liked and me avoiding games with running. Eventually when I was maybe 12 we had to jump on one leg across the entire gym which my left leg didn't enjoy ,I was in so fucking terrible pain and going up all the stairs back to class was terrible. Once again ,don't see anything wrong ,just rest it should get better and no PE for you for half a year. That doctor didn't find anything ,the hospital didn't find anything and probably thought I was faking it because they asked if I wanna talk to a therapist about the pain. My mom started to tell stories of my brothers faking stuff to have time with her (which I guess was her not believing me either ) After two years I got send to physio therapy where the person examined me. That God sent person finally told me what's wrong and finally got help. My legs did get better but just last year I learned again to walk upstairs normally ,I was used to waking them up funny because I was scared of the pain I had. I still avoid stuff that includes jumping.

[@Infamousklutz]

So I’ve had chronic kidney stones since 10. Passing them since then quite frequently. So at 12 my mother and I went to the ER and me bing acclimated to this pain I walked in normal just kinda slower than my usual pace. When we got to the desk my mother told the lady as per usual why we were there, she’s rudely said that there was no way I was bc I didn’t come in limping. My mom retorted that I had many of these for 2 years and had them chronicle and by now I knew limping wouldn’t help. She immediately shut up and signed us in. I was in fact passing another stone Another one I had a tube in my back form a pcnl- stone removal surgery, to be left in til the other side would be done. Told my dr before I was checked out that tube was hurting kinda felt like being pulled on but it wasn’t, said I didn’t think it was in right. He glance at it said looks good to me. Went home and was back he’s later in sever pain bc it was of course not in properly. I have more but at this point I advise everyone to stand your ground til they do something and if they don’t do what I did to the same last dr- kick them the f out and demand a new dr. I was 22 then and I’ve done it one other time.

[@CrazyKiwiGaming]

Making a bigger issue or making lesser of an issue both bad. I played brave and they thought it was renol failure... it ended up being left side of heart and both kidneys failing 😅 never a big brave man

[@seanthiar]

The problem with doctors thinking you have no problem is that they often only go with what they see and not what they get told. I have three herniated discs in my neck area and sometimes I have no problem, no limitations in movement, but at other times I can't move because of the pain. And the other problem is that I can't use pain meds, because I have damaged kidneys and many pain meds are forbidden to use or there are so much side effects that I'm high that I'm not able to function. If I get morphine I can't eat and drink, because I will puke. Sometimes smelling something is enough to puke. Morphine based meds make me nauseous. When I have an appointment I always hope that it is not a good day.... One time I said the doctor I puke with morphine and he gave me morphine ignoring what I said - 20 min later I puked on his pants. The problem is it takes nearly day for the tendency to puke to go away and I can't take my other medicine because taking it will lead to puking and the medicine can't work. Kidney problems lead to high blood pressure and not being able to take the medicine to fight the high blood pressure is bad. It damages your kidneys further and it's not good for the other organs, too. Another effect of the damaged discs is a permanent tremor in my hands and the intensity changes by the hour. It happens that I have to place a glass on the counter and fill it and then use a straw to drink, because if I hold it in my hand I spill everything. An hour later I can drink normally. The doctors started only to believe me about the tremors after a week long stay in the hospital where I was able to call the nurse every time I lost control thanks to the tremors.

[@PS_ItsTheCrockpot]

Ill tell you as a system that has been professionally diagnosed IF YOU ARE NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL DONT SAY SOMEONE IS FAKING DID/OSDD. This forms from trauma, and when you find out your brain might try to do every possible to hide it again. Ill tell you who experienced this when i first found out, it turns this already hard time EXTREMELY traumatic. If you suspect a system is faking its best to stop communication with them, without mentioning you suspect them being fake. This way if your wrong they don't get hurt. Saying someone is fake wont hurt those faking it only hurts the ones that don't fake. Also diagnosis is a long process as its often ignored, takes about 10 years on average. DID/OSDD is more common then people admit because its extremely under diagnosed, its a disorder that hides the best it can. Also the internet is leading to more systems becoming aware at a younger age due to information.

[@PS_ItsTheCrockpot]

I felt this was needed as DID/OSDD are one of the most fake claimed disorders we see. These are also extremely complex disorders if you're not trained you don't know the at least 50 different kinds of alters. Even some that are trained don't know. DID/OSDD desperately needs more research, especially as many pretend it doesn't even exist. We live with it and I'll tell you it very much exits and it is hell to deal with currently, not because of the alters but because of everything else that comes with it.

[@Azulakayes]

Addiction to opiates is a disease and a psycho-social issue that has permeated even the reaction of medical staff to offering primary and emergency care to patients. It saddens me when people are denied care because a medic has preconceived notions that they are addicts looking for a fix or denying their levels of pain yet it is the same medics and medical facilities that over-prescribed opiates in league with profit-driven pharmaceutical companies. It is a lose-lose situation for the non-addict patients for their pain being dismissed, the addicts whose recovery is compromised and other illnesses they have being dismissed and the medics who want to offer proper care but due to unconscious or systemic biases aren't able to. It just makes me so SAD.

[@limyarplane1991]

yea its so crazy how they will deny some legit patients with serious health issue seeking hospital care calling them "addict's" but then prescribe other patients opioids for minor issue's. my brother broke his bone a while back and the doctor tried to prescribe him a absurd amount of opioids for absolutely arguably fairly minor pain. honestly just infuriating cause a huge amount of addictions started because of hospital's.

[@TrixRN]

I was in ER because of an intestinal blockage. This wasn’t the 1st time I’d had this & the pain is intense. Believe me the pain was worse than trying to birth a 9.4 lb baby & the nurse holding my legs closed to prevent the delivery. Anyway I was in tremendous pain literally writhing on the gurney with vomiting every 10 minutes or so. The nurse comes in & tells me to settle down & not be so dramatic. I wanted to slap her. FYI I was once an ER RN myself. I kept trying to tell them I had Crohn’s disease & I’d had blockages in the past. No one would listen. 🤦‍♀️

[@jamie1602]

When I was a child, I had ovarian cysts. They were huge and there was a cluster of them. They ruptured. I was given oxy because there was nothing they could do for me since I wasn't old enough to take birth control, which was a preventative measure. So I was twelve and getting oxy... That was a horrible experience. I was nauseated. But that was all they could do because I couldn't sit up due to the pain. Flash to now, I have an incurable condition. A neurological hellscape of a condition that causes severe chronic pain and other things like some immunocompromization and other things that makes you ask why did they just stop at neurological for the classification. Ibuprofen. I get ibuprofen. Admittedly, oxy doesn't work on this. It just doesn't work. The pain is so bad it doesn't touch it. It exceeds oxy. But most people who have this same condition get told they're faking and denied ALL medications, even ibuprofen. I'm just lucky that I had multiple doctors have visceral reactions to my symptoms. That's the only reason I'm able to get my medications. Yeah. Yeah this is how they treat actual patients.

[@pamelaibanez4608]

Last year i had a domestic accident and burned myself with boiling water in my legs, crotch and stomach, i went to emergency inmediatly because the pain was unbearable and very quickly all the skin turn red and white and began to rise and form blisters. In emergency they attend me inmediatly and they put me in drugs for the pain, treated the blisters and put me bandages. The doctor told me i would need various skin grafts so he derived me to a plastic surgeon. Luckily, i did not needed skin grafts and i dont even have any scar. I'm very grateful with this doctor (he was a pediatric and the only doctor on shift) but he and the nurse were very kind and treated me with more care than i think i needed 🤗🤗

[@randomguyontheinternet5030]

15:50 bro how do you take an xray and NOT LOOK AT IT. Like come on. Medical malpractice suits are hard to prove but by God should that one be worthy of one.

[@pjmacinnes831]

I had a hemorrhagic cyst burst and I was in agonizing pain. The staff at the ER treated me like a drug seeker, even after a CT scan confirmed that I was bleeding internally. I asked if they could give me something mild for the pain over and over because I didn't want to be totally screwed up. The girl told me I could either have Tylenol or morphine. As if there was nothing in between. Are you fucking kidding me? My doctor was horrified when I told him this story.

[@Vi_Vi_1]

Story 5 was comforting. I'd be terrified to have a real medical emergency and have the person treating me not take it seriously, so I appreciate their attitude that they'll just treat you and take care of you.

[@avigailwaters6219]

I grew up in a third world country where decent medical care is 12hrs away. So whenever we go to the hospital it's something serious. It's not like here in the USA where you can get help right away. Because of how my siblings and I grew up, we have a high pain tolerance. By brother literally fractured his back and didn't think about seeing a doctor till a week later. My sister had complications after giving birth in the US, and doctors thought she was faking the pain. She literally gave birth without pain meds and has one of the highest pain tolerances I know. Turns out she had gall stones and they had to remove her gall bladder 2 weeks after she had the baby. A week after her operation she had a pulmonary embolism. Fortunately her doctor now knew about her pain tolerance and treated it as the emergency it was.

[@uglygeguri]

Accusing people of faking it is insane in a medical setting without 100000% proof. The one of the woman walking around was even sketchy bc she mightve felt they didnt believe her if she was walking around in front of them

[@SpookyPumpTheBestPump]

when my sister went to the hospital for extreme stomach pain they claimed it was just period pains and sent her home. turns out the lining of her stomach is now extremely damaged and she can no longer eat starch or lactose, woohoo

[@bluecannibaleyes]

Actually the kid breaking his arm by rolling out of bed is very relatable to me because when I was a very young child I broke my collarbone by rolling off a couch.

[@British_747]

UnderSparked Thank you so much for making these videos! I normally wouldn't leave a comment like this but you are an amazing youtuber. 😄

[@TechIMO]

3:42 As a health care worker, if I think they may be bullshitting I listen to their concerns and then closely monitor for signs of bullshittery. But after surgery like that…? Mmm…no. Better to CYA (cover your ass) and get it checked out.

[@Shinypokemon77]

For story 4. I’m glad you recovered. But drinking thickened water sounds nasty.

[@midnightriot2454]

I have Trigeminal Neuralgia I've had it for a few years, and I had a severe attack and it was so bad I couldn't swallow, and the nurse in a and e asked the pain scale I had to WRITE DOWN 10 because the pain was so bad I couldn't talk and she looked at me like I was lying. TN used to be called the suicide disorder because it's one of the worse disorders for pain known to mankind that before medication was available people used to kill themselves due to not being able to cope with the pain, and this woman thought I was lying!!

[@jessicaolson490]

Story 16: that doc that assumed you were on drugs was extra idiotic, if you give a drug addict a normal dose of Dilaudid it doesn't even touch them.... 🙄 No wonder he doesn't work there anymore He's bad at his job. It's a good example that somebody can go through medical school but still not be good at it, medicine takes a lot of finesse that just can't be learned from a book.

[@gwenpicchi5719]

These doctors wouldn't have a problem with me. Last time I allowed myself to go to the doctor was when I had a stomach bug and diarrhea at the same time. I only go when it's bad.

[@KaidonSalter4Heisman]

Had the same shit happen to me with my back. At the point I don't even go to the Drs anymore.

[@GuacamoleKun]

This is one of my biggest fears

[@kaycita_luv]

during work a couple years ago, i randomly felt light headed and started to spasm. my manager called the ambulance and they just chalked it up to a panic attack and told me to stop freaking out. i know what a panic attack feels like and i knew it wasn’t that. i couldn’t speak, stop the spasming, and had points of not being able to breathe. the episodes would last the entire day without stopping and got so bad i damaged parts of my body. i was taken to several doctors and ER’s and they laughed in my face and told me i was faking it while i laid there in pain feeling like i was dying. finally after everything i endured, a smaller hospital took me seriously, sent me to a nearby hospital and did a bunch of tests on me. turns out i have functional neurological disorder and pots syndrome. still have to go to hospitals at times of bad episodes and still get the same comments even though my family and friends tell them what my medical issue is. very very saddening and caused me a lot of ptsd

[@ayza595]

I actually have a story thats kind of the opposite of this. I was faking vomiting during my 7th grade year, not so that I wouldn't have to go to school, but because it is VERY rare for me to vomit even if I'm feeling the worst I've ever felt. Eventually, my mom took me to the Doctors and turns out, My gallbladder was functioning at 2% and the stomach pains they'd told me I was "being dramatic" about was my Gallbladder not working properly. I was told if I'd waited any longer to get it checked out, It might have been Life threatening.

[@willow_rayne6678]

I am in chronic pain, so I've been receiving pain management for many years now. Due to the type of medication I receive, I get a LOT of judgement. One look into my chart and the attending nurse or physician could see why I receive that medication. I have a Vit. D deficiency, add that to having extreme anxiety since I was 5 (which lead to constant vomiting as a reaction) my teeth were brittle. I broke a tooth down to the nerve on a holiday. I was in the worst paid I'd ever had in my life. There wasn't an emergency dental clinic near me open until the next day. I tried everything I could think of to get rid of this pain, but it stayed, went to a major headache, and I started to get sick which made it hurt worse. I figured the E.R. could maybe numb it until I could get to the dentist the next day. That E.R. doc was so rude to me. I took a pic of my face in the room and my face was CLEARLY swollen. He looked at my chart, frowned, then examined me, seen the tooth, and then paced the office for a sec before finally saying, "okay, so what are you on and now trying to get?" This was the first time I'd been dealt this kind of prejudgment from someone. I can remember looking at him, half of my face swollen, eyes and face red from crying, and immediately was like "wtf". I told him that I wasn't sure what his problem was, but he clearly didn't actually READ my chart, and he poked my f-ing tooth - acknowledging the exposed root - so if he could just numb the f-ing thing with Novocain or lidocaine, then I'd be happy. I told him I had pain medicine at home, obviously, so F the narcotics. He stood there for a moment before finally going to the laptop, read a few things, typed whatever doctor crap he decided on, and left the room without so much as a goodbye or KMA. The nurse came in a few moments later with a shot of lidocaine to help numb it, and an apology for the current doctor and how he's normally not the attending physician. Their regular ER doc called in that night. Go figures. I have a few other stories, too, like getting my OA diagnosis. I get it's difficult on care providers because people really do fake a LOT of things, but when you've got someone who is NOT faking it, your attitude will determine the kind of experience the patient will have, and whether or not they will trust medical staff going forward.

[@markpeabody9606]

We had a patient come into our emergency room that we knew was a drug seeker and so to appease the patient. They gave the patient a eye ibuprofen in ivy form, and when the guy left, he was trying to get out of the parking lot for the emergency room and reaching out his door to push the button to open, the gate, fell out and got run over by his own car, well he got the pain medicines he wanted

[@DaveTexas]

I have the problem of my body not producing additional white blood cells when I have an infection. I’m also extremely prone to infections - probably because my body doesn’t react to infections the way it should. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had a doctor not believe me when I come in and tell them I know I have an infection. There are many instances where an infection got really bad before a doctor finally found the infection. I had an abscess once that I knew was there, but the ER doctor I saw told me wasn’t an infection. Blood work showed no elevated WBC levels. Three days later, I’m at a different ER, where I’m taken to surgery immediately. I actually got a lecture from the surgeon about not waiting to seek treatment, since if I’d been put on antibiotics earlier on, I wouldn’t have needed surgery. I gave him the name and phone number of the doctor I’d seen a few days earlier. He let that doctor have it! I talked to a lawyer to see if I could sue for the cost of the surgery and recovery, but I was told that it would be a hard case to win and I likely wouldn’t receive enough money to make it worthwhile even if I won…

[@KoriKitsune]

16:25 Resilient children.... reminds me of when I was ten. I merely did a leap of joy during new years eve, and somehow broke a tiny bone at the base of my little toe in my left foot upon merely landing back on the ground with my feet. In relation to this video, was fun because my family did not believe me at first that someting was wrong from merely doing a small jump, despite the pain I was in :/

[@zakosist]

1:43 but doesn't that have a risk of making them blind? Unless that risk is practically zero that is a horrible practice and not a justified way to test if someone is faking.