Doctors Aren't Always Right
By Sharon
@simone10 (54180)
Louisville, Kentucky
September 23, 2015 6:25am CST
First off, I want to apologize that this discussion is so long. I tried to shorten it but there was just too much that I had to say.
About a month and a half ago I went to a new rheumatologist for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). At first I really liked him. Then he started telling me things that just didn't mesh with the last doctors I saw in Las Vegas. He blamed everything on fibromyalgia and said I didn't have RA. He also said I didn't have osteoarthritis in my left hip. When I mentioned to him how my back has been so painful that I couldn't stand for longer than 15 minutes and how my thigh goes completely numb if I sleep on my right side, he didn't seem concerned at all, said there wasn't any point in having an MRI, that it was firbormyalgia and just started talking about something else. I didn't know what to believe and about a week later I got a call from the doctor's office and was told by the nurse that I did have RA. He was wrong about me not having RA.
I went back for a second visit about a week or so ago and there were a lot more red flags. When I gave him the MRI that I had taken a few years ago on my hip showing that I have osteoarthritis, he said he couldn't understand half of what the report said and then he went into explaining how the hip works. Okay, another red flag because he couldn't even read the MRI report.
I talked to him again about my back and right leg. I told him that my thigh gets so numb that I can stick it with a needle and not feel a thing. I can walk though but it still scares me and worries me. I am concerned there is a nerve problem and if not taken care of, it could be become permanent. I asked if it could be a disk problem and could it have ruptured. He said that people have ruptured disks all the time. That was his exact words to me. He still didn't want to do an MRI of my back. He also told me that he still doesn't believe I have RA because if I had it for 7-8 years (like my medical records show) I would have bone damage by now and the xrays he had done in his office didn't show anything. Well, my doctors have always treated me aggressively with medications for RA and that is the whole purpose, to stop the progression of the disease. Duh!! I knew for a fact that what he had just said wasn't true.
I was very frustrated and disillusioned when I came home. I decided that I would have to find another rheumatologist and in the mean time, I made an appointment with my primary doctor for the 28th and I am going to ask her if she can order an MRI of my back and also of my hip.
I just don't understand. I know that doctors are only human and can make mistakes but this doctor knocked down everything I had to say or question and was convinced he was right. He wouldn't even listen to me. According to him, everything was fibromyalgia. I know my body better than anyone else does and I know there is something wrong with my back. It may not be anything serious but I want the peace of mind to know and I want someone to explain to me why my right thigh goes numb when I lay on the right side of my back. Is that too much to ask?
My advice is, you know your body better than anyone else does. You know when something isn't right. Don't let a doctor bully you into believing something without the proof. If you have to, find another doctor or get a second opinion.
21 people like this
19 responses
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
23 Sep 15
yepperz, they can now prescribe ya all sorts 'f meds by slappin' a benign label'n it. the pharmaceutical companies jest giggle all the way to the bank 'n yer left with bigger troubles :(
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
23 Sep 15
I don't know if you read @crazyhorseladycx 's diatribe against the medical profession on the other site, but most of her problems have been caused by misdiagnosis. So yes, go for a second opinion.
I have lived with numbness in my buttock and groin area for years, and I believe it's due to a trapped nerve. I've never bothered to ask a doctor about it as it causes me no problems.
3 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
23 Sep 15
sometimes its best to jest avoid those doc's, ms. janet. seen a thingy jest last night (early this morn??) talkin' 'bout 1 in 10 folks 're misdiagnosed/or their treatments incorrect. purty dang scary...
3 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
23 Sep 15
@Marcyaz unfortunately, one's so many hoops to jump through to get those 2nd, 3rd 'n beyond referrals so's insurance'll pay fer such that many jest give up 'n go with the flow 
1 person likes this
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
24 Sep 15
You might like to look up the term iatragenic illness if you haven't encountered it before. In short it is an illness caused by a doctor and/or medical treatment. Statistics on what percent of illness in the US is iatragenic vary, but some respected health professionals say that a third of all deaths here are caused by it and we are talking about hundreds of thousands of people dying of this every year. So what you say about us knowing our own bodies is crucial to our survival.
2 people like this
@simone10 (54180)
• Louisville, Kentucky
25 Sep 15
@drannhh I just looked it up and now understand. It made me remember something else that I talked to him about. He wanted to put me on Cymbalta. I told him that I can't take any anti-depressants because I also take tramadal and I had a reaction which my primary doctor said was seritonin syndrome. I had internal shakes and it scared me. When I looked it up, I was really scared because it can be life threatening. When I told him that he kind of laughed it off and still wanted to give me Cymbalta but I refused.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502569)
• Italy
23 Sep 15
I completely agree with you. We know our body and we must listen to it. Some doctors are so much happy of themselves that they do not listen, they believe they know everything, that is almost never the case. I hope you can find someone who is able to listen to you and find the real problem.
2 people like this
@fawkes62 (1276)
• United States
23 Sep 15
I would find another doctor too. Not being able to read an MRI report is a huge read flag and I would get out of that office as fast as I could. MRI's are fairly standard procedures for some and any doctor should be able to read that report. Hopefully you are able to find a better doctor.
2 people like this
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
24 Sep 15
Well, reading an MRI might not be a red flag, after all, there is a specialty for reading those things. HOWEVER, if she had the MRI, it included the report of what was going on in the MRI, and that should be in at least standard medical lingo, even if not in plain English... I think this guy is a bit of a quack...
2 people like this
@Marcyaz (35316)
• United States
23 Sep 15
I understand your frustration and am glad you are not going back to this quack. I would check him out online, I was once given two doctors names to call and see one of them when I checked out the first one he had some things on his record which was a red flag to me so I never went to see him. I then called my primary doctor and told her of this and she said they would be looking into his background and would not be recommending him to anyone else until they found out what the story was on him.
1 person likes this
@Marcyaz (35316)
• United States
25 Sep 15
@simone10
You can go to :
or Register and logon to the American Board of Medical Specialties website at www.abms.org. Registration to become a member is simple and free. The site can be used to search for board-certified doctors in your area, or to check the background of a physician or specialist.
Read more : http://www.ehow.com/how_6543190_check-doctor_s-background.html
or you can just type in your Doctors name and see what comes up but make sure you type in Dr.
Find out about a doctor's disciplinary record before you step into their office. Search this public information conveniently on our site. Visit Castle Connolly today.
1 person likes this
@Blondie2222 (28610)
• United States
23 Sep 15
Well I hope your primary doctor can do what you need him to do. That doctor sounds like he doesn't really care about his patients if he won't even listen to you and look at reports from the other physicians you went too. I would def seek another doctor to get better care for yourself. Good luck
2 people like this
@simone10 (54180)
• Louisville, Kentucky
25 Sep 15
@Blondie2222 What blew my mind is that he didn't even know how to read an MRI.
@Carmelanirel2 (8085)
• United States
4 Oct 15
That is why I stopped going to the doctor.. First the doctor told me to wear a brace at night for tendentious, (she didn't tell me why I was in pain, I figured that out myself) and then after going back 2-3 times, she finally told me why and so I did my own research, seeing that if my wrist was not swollen, I could do preventative exercises.
Another time I was sick for 3 straight weeks, (when I say sick, I am talking I am in bed and don't care if the house is getting covered in all kinds of dirt) going to the doctor in as many times.
That said, I haven't been to a doctor since 2012
1 person likes this
@Carmelanirel2 (8085)
• United States
15 Oct 15
@simone10 Isn't there natural ways to control RA? And I know that there is something for BP, yet I also know not everyone is able to do that. Take my husband, whenever he is sick or hurting, he goes to the doctor while I attack my sickness and pain naturally.
1 person likes this
@simone10 (54180)
• Louisville, Kentucky
20 Oct 15
@Carmelanirel2 There are ways to help RA naturally but I have had it for so long that stuff like that doesn't work for me anymore.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
26 Sep 15
I'm lucky to have a few relatives who are medical practitioners. So when I go to a doctor and if after a consultation I find that the explanation given was unsatisfactory I would always get a second (sometimes third) opinion from them.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
23 Sep 15
ya know my thoughts on such, ms. simone. i've been through 37 docs/specialists myself. i do battles with 'em all. e'en momma's hematologist 'n i butt heads. he knew 'nough to test 'er fer a gene mutation, but'll not e'en read his own colleagues reports 's to how to prevent more disease from such. refuses to believe there's a diff'rence 'twixt folate 'n folic acid - the latter 'f which her body can't convert into folate. momma sticks with 'im, ya know, coz he's a doc 'n i aint.
if'n yer thinkin' pinched nerve, perhaps a trip to the chiro'd be best? a good'un 'll order 'n mri 'n look through all yer reports 'n set up a treatment plan.
1 person likes this
@simone10 (54180)
• Louisville, Kentucky
25 Sep 15
@crazyhorseladycx I may give the chiro a try if there is nothing seriously wrong. I have an appointment Monday with my primary care doctor and I'm going to ask her for an MRI of my back and both of my hips.
1 person likes this
@simone10 (54180)
• Louisville, Kentucky
26 Sep 15
@crazyhorseladycx I won't give up. I am ready for the fight.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
25 Sep 15
@simone10 i wish ya the best 'f luck. the aunt'd been to a bunch 'f doc's in arizona who said nary a thingy was ailin' her. when she came here, i took her to my chiro (now retired, dang it) 'n 'fter a short visit with her sent her off fer an mri. what the others'd blown off 'n missed fer years 'twas she had m.s. like doc's, not all chiro's 're good'uns, but hopefully yer gonna find somebody who'll listen 'n do necessary testin', get a good sturdy treatment plan in place 'n help ya through all this mess. i'd not stop 'til i found myself one. don't get discouraged with all the hoops yer prolly gonna 've to jump through. insurance companies 'f not the patience best interests in mind.
1 person likes this
@ria1606roy (2797)
• Kolkata, India
23 Sep 15
I just don't get it....how did he come up with fibromyalgia out of the blue? I mean, thigh numbness and RA is no laughing matter! No doctor should just ignore what his patient is trying to tell him. Doctors are supposed to be listeners first, then diagnostics. This is just crap. @simone10 you had to go through quite the hassle, just ditch that blabbering idiot.
1 person likes this
@simone10 (54180)
• Louisville, Kentucky
25 Sep 15
@ria1606roy That is what I thought too about the fibromyalgia. I would think that most doctors would do tests to rule out other things before they give a final diagnosis.
1 person likes this
@ria1606roy (2797)
• Kolkata, India
25 Sep 15
@simone10 yes they would. This doctor doesn't even care about diagnostic tests. All he wants is a case of fibromyalgia, and now he has found you to pin it on.
1 person likes this
@ria1606roy (2797)
• Kolkata, India
25 Sep 15
@simone10 have you found another doctor? I kind of understand what you are going through. See, I am a med student. And we are always taught to record history of the patient first and foremost, in patient's own description. So any doctor who doesn't do that is not even following the rules. And yes, the patient in most cases understands her body better if she had been suffering from a chronic condition. So don't ever have doubt about it.
1 person likes this
@GreatMartin (23670)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
24 Sep 15
A smart person no matter how much faith they have in their physician should always get a second opinion even if they think their doc is right--I know I do!
1 person likes this
@simone10 (54180)
• Louisville, Kentucky
25 Sep 15
@GreatMartin That is exactly what I am going to do. I've just never had anything like this come up before.
@Tampa_girl7 (54715)
• United States
23 Sep 15
I m trying to find the source of my pain. It has been a nightmare.
1 person likes this
@simone10 (54180)
• Louisville, Kentucky
25 Sep 15
@Tampa_girl7 We have to be our own advocate because some doctors just don't seem to care. I know you have been having a heck of a time with your pain and I pray they find the source.
@Freelanzer (10782)
• Canada
23 Sep 15
Doctors are humans too and do make mistakes. I for one don't always follow my doctor's orders.
1 person likes this
@simone10 (54180)
• Louisville, Kentucky
25 Sep 15
@Freelanzer Making a mistake is one thing but not listening to your patient's concerns is another.
