Mystery Diagnosis

[Fly Rod]

Re: Mystery Diagnosis

If you do not already have a primary care doctor, have never been to a doctor, I suggest that you find one soon. Doctors in my area are already refusing new patients in my area.

People where I live are very fortunate to have several of some of the best hospitals in the world just forty minutes away.

 

[CN Spots]

Re: Mystery Diagnosis

Saw an episode on Human Bot Flies once. EEEEEEEEEEEWWWW!

None for me thanks.


We need a barfing smiley for threads like this.

 

[roncoop75]

Re: Mystery Diagnosis

Well, during periods of serious infection, the body has series of processes going on. During a serious infection an inflammatory response is taking place and can trigger a clotting cascade and produce multiple clots. Not often, but Strep (Streptococcus) can effect the heart lining and valves due inflammation. Bits of clots can be formed spread throughout the body and some can enter the coronary circulation and cause an obstruction and thus lead to a heart attack(myocardial infarction). Not often, but serious infections can cause inflammation of the heart(myocarditis and pericarditis) and can mimic heart attack symptoms like chest pain or EKG changes.

So, it is not as simple as they gave me an antibiotic and I developed an heart attack. (Not to say that didn't happen, because any thing is possible!) But the body is an complex group of organs working together to promote health and well being. Despite the best efforts and years of medical studies and research unexpected results can occur.

Well, I'll tell you that the practice of medicine is a very diverse and complicated field. TV shows and movies show doctors performing miracles and curing profoundly ill people with a pill. Those are very rare, but get a lot of notoriety.

People walk into a doctors office and hospital expecting to walk out cured. Some of these same people are severely over weight, some smoke 2 to 3 packs of cigarettes a day for the past 20 to 30yrs (can't under stand why they can't breath or why they have heart problems), and some have multiple serious health problems that complicate treat plans and have to be dealt with in cautious manner.

My point is that it is not always a easy fix or immediate answer! Yes, unfortunately like in any occupation there are certain percentages of undesirable individual who don't care or aren't that good. Unfortunately, bad experiences are magnified more profoundly.

I did not state the above comments to offended anyone or diminished their trying experiences, but just wanted to play devil's advocate and point out the other side.


TD, I agree with you 100% our nations veteran's should be given a hell of a lot better medical care and attention than they receive. I am a veteran my self and have always felt that our men and women of the current and past service should get the best medical care!!


Soap box off now.

Cheers

That's a nice theory, but that's not what happened. Wanna go a little deeper? My best friend's sister is a nurse in Dallas in a large hospital. When I was in the hospital he was recounting my story to her but he couldn't remember the name of the anti-biotic. She filled it in for him and added that "they've seen that reaction before after taking that specific medication". Do I think they didn't know this? I have a suspicion that they did. If they did, they were attempting not to get sued. If they didn't, they should have.

You know what's worse about this? They couldn't just say "I don't know". No, instead they gave me a bag full of drugs that I was later taken off of by another doctor who saw nothing wrong with me. THAT'S the worst part of it all. If a doctor doesn't know, he/she shouldn't be taking a stab in the dark by handing out a bunch of drugs because, and I'm not kidding here, as I was told by a cardiologist "that's just what we do". He couldn't find anything wrong with me but gave me a bunch of drugs because "that's just what we do". Pathetic!

Oh, BTW, to add insult to stupidity. There was another guy in the same hospital, with the same illness who was given the same anti-biotic and had the same MI type reaction as I did, just one day earlier. Couldn't possibly be expected to make any kind of connection there? And then to tell me they've never heard of this before...? ya, not buying it

Edit: Just so you know, I don't hate all doctors. The one that saw the idiocy of all of this and pulled me off the useless drugs they had me on seems to have his heads screwed on straight. They are not the all powerful Oz that I once thought they were. Some are great. Some are mediocre. Some should have their licenses revoked.

 

[PW2]

Re: Mystery Diagnosis

Medicine is not an exact science, and some docs are better than others. The new high tech diagnostic tools like MRI's and the like make it better, but it will never be perfect.

My own horror story involved my then 5 year old daughter and her rather bizarre complaint of reduced field of vision.

It was a small community with a small professional community, and we were going thru a reasonably well publicized divorce...

Eye doc said it was just her way of getting attention, and appeared to come to this conclusion without even examining her. We ended up in a shouting match in his office, and I scheduled a second opinion at Children's hospital in Seattle.

Turned out she had a brain tumor, and had to have an immediate operation.

I filed a complaint (not a lawsuit) with the local medical board, but before it could be heard the Doc went to a deserted area and shot himself with a shotgun.

Don't know how much my complaint contributed or not, but never lost too much sleep over it.

 

[DianneB]

Re: Mystery Diagnosis

I agree that doctors are "just people" but unfortunately the field attracts a fair number who go into it for the money and prestige. The other type truly want to help people and they make the best doctors.

After working in the medical field in the late 1970's, I lost a great deal of faith in doctors, having dealt with them behind the scenes.

With the development of the Internet I no longer leave my health care totally to the doctor(s) but also research it on-line so I am at least in a position to say "What about this?" or "Did you consider that?". Doctors tend to diagnose based on what they are familiar with and what is most common but a good doctor will also rule out the uncommon possibilities.

 

[cajuncook1]

Re: Mystery Diagnosis

That's a nice theory, but that's not what happened. Wanna go a little deeper? My best friend's sister is a nurse in Dallas in a large hospital. When I was in the hospital he was recounting my story to her but he couldn't remember the name of the anti-biotic. She filled it in for him and added that "they've seen that reaction before after taking that specific medication". Do I think they didn't know this? I have a suspicion that they did. If they did, they were attempting not to get sued. If they didn't, they should have.

You know what's worse about this? They couldn't just say "I don't know". No, instead they gave me a bag full of drugs that I was later taken off of by another doctor who saw nothing wrong with me. THAT'S the worst part of it all. If a doctor doesn't know, he/she shouldn't be taking a stab in the dark by handing out a bunch of drugs because, and I'm not kidding here, as I was told by a cardiologist "that's just what we do". He couldn't find anything wrong with me but gave me a bunch of drugs because "that's just what we do". Pathetic!

Oh, BTW, to add insult to stupidity. There was another guy in the same hospital, with the same illness who was given the same anti-biotic and had the same MI type reaction as I did, just one day earlier. Couldn't possibly be expected to make any kind of connection there? And then to tell me they've never heard of this before...? ya, not buying it

Edit: Just so you know, I don't hate all doctors. The one that saw the idiocy of all of this and pulled me off the useless drugs they had me on seems to have his heads screwed on straight. They are not the all powerful Oz that I once thought they were. Some are great. Some are mediocre. Some should have their licenses revoked.

Hey, can you find out what antibiotic you were on. Interested to know. If you don't consider this too personal. (PM me if you find out, I would like to research the particular drug.)

Well, if they suspect you of have chest or angina, then there are certain standards of care they are follow until they rule out that you don't have myocardial ischemia. So, that entails using aspirin or plavix and lovenox, (anti-platelet therapy), beta blockers (lower heart rate, blood pressure and decreases myocardial oxygen demand) and some low dose nitrates(dilates the coronary arteries to improve blood flow and oxygen delivery to the cardiac tissue. They also have to look at labs and see if there in any change in the cardiac markers such as troponin, CK and CK-MB sub-components. Also they need to at least get a baseline 12 lead EKG.

If they don't follow the standards of care and rule out you have an heart attack first, then they serious open themselves up to litigation. After the cause of chest pain is clarified or ruled out then a person can be taking off the medication.

Any Hoo, not defending them, just pointing there are reasons certain things are done, but may not make sense to a patient. Again, teaching should be done properly so the patient may understand why things are done. This helps prevent the patient from feeling like the medical staff doesn't understand or know what they are doing.

But you are correct, there are some doctors that need to have there practice and licenses evaluated.

Hope your future experiences are better!