Is it wrong to expect Doctors to be perfect?

Here in the US, there was a TV show call Medical Mysteries that I use to watch religiously. Being the medical science nerd that I am, I always found these shows fascinating. Not because of the person’s ailments, but because of the years it would take to finally give a proper diagnosis after all of their suffering. All of the pain, all of the time missed from family, all of the thoughts of an imminent demise… only to be taken seriously by that one doctor who cared enough to go over and beyond to help save that life.

The truth is doctors are not perfect, but we as patients expect them to be.

Then I think back to my own misdiagnosis. 40+ years. At first, one doctor suggested ‘growing pains’. After me complaining more and more, i went to see another newer doctor. Well, after seeing him, I’ve lived with what I was told was Juvenile Arthritis – for years. Listen, I’ve had these pains in my hips that radiated to my thighs as young as 10 years old. And I was fairly smart at that age, but I never believed that was what I had. There really wasn’t much me or my Mother could say but to take the word from this doctor. He was the expert, right? Even though I kept telling him my pain was not in my knee (joints) but that it was above my knees in the thigh area, it always seemed to circle around back to my knees (not listening).

Years … no, decades later in 2021, I was finally given a proper diagnosis for the years of chronic pain (the kind that keeps you up at night and nothing relieves it) … Trochanteric bursitis. Although this type of bursitis is rare during the young age I started having pain, my current Rheumatologist says that I have had it for an extremely long time. Normally, the onset of upcoming rain or bitter cold will cause flare-ups, but just lying in bed the wrong way will trigger it too.

The truth is doctors are not perfect, but we as patients expect them to be. We pay money for them to be. I was misdiagnosed a long time ago of having lupus (I never found out what caused those symptoms), I’ve been told by my doctor that he never prescribed me a medication (I had to send pics of the prescription bottle with his name on it), I was told I had a mass on my ovary (which wasn’t a mass, it was just enlarged), I was prescribed a wrong medication (one I had never taken before but it was sent incorrectly to the pharmacy), I complained about swollen feet/ankles (but my doctor at the time didn’t think it was important enough to address – still dealing with it), a ‘resident’ psychiatrist decided to double the dosage on my antidepressant (it was 2 weeks before I realized my zombie-like cognitive senses were drugged too much for my brain to handle) and I literally could not think or comprehend anything.

I said all of that to say, I’ve had enough of the misdiagnoses and the lack of care when it comes to my health. The only Doctor I trust at this moment is my Psychologist. She keeps my mind at peace when I feel the other doctors just don’t care. I’m scheduled to see a new doctor soon. I am praying that he will have patience with me as I try to regain my trust again. I need this doctor to go over and beyond just for me! Time will tell.

Until next time … be blessed.

**It’s 3:30 am and I have one eye opened. Please excuse any typos**