A good doctor is like an angel. They make sure you’re feeling well, talk you through everything, calm you down, and go off to do the same for tens or hundreds of people every day.
But as the old saying goes: “one bad apple can spoil the barrel.” Lots of people have encounters which made them regret going to the doctor’s in the first place, which is a horrible thing to happen when all you want is to feel well.
A Reddit poster shares the story of how she got revenge on an arrogant doctor by ruining their prized shoes.
More info: Reddit
Arguing with a medical professional is difficult, especially if you're in a lot of pain after an operation
Image credits: EVG Kowalievska (not the actual photo)
The poster knew all too well that she reacts negatively to certain combinations of medicine that are described in her medical history
Image source: denelian1
The doctor decided not to give her the oxycodone she was prescribed, but give her a combination of meds she is allergic to
Image source: denelian1
A couple of minutes later, as the poster had expected, she suddenly felt sick and threw up, intentionally soiling the arrogant doctor's $300 shoes
Image source: denelian1
After a couple more times of throwing up, she received the medicine that was prescribed to her and filed a formal complaint
The poster’s story begins with the fact that she reacts poorly to certain combinations of medicine. Those combinations are always listed in her chart, but nurses or doctors rarely pay attention to all of them.
She was in the hospital after an operation and the nurse refused to give her pain medicine as “it would have gotten her addicted.” The doctor also repeated the same sentiment and gave her the incorrect meds.
She promptly threw up, as she said she would, and intentionally aimed at the doc’s feet. After splattering his $300 shoes with sick and two more throw-ups, he finally conceded to give the woman the correct medicine.
Bored Panda reached out to the poster of the story, denelian1, to hear more about her experience. She mentions that a foolproof method of getting doctors to listen to her is taking a white guy with her. Doctors automatically direct questions towards the men, while her friend paraphrases what she has to say.
According to denelian1, this is terrifying, as not having an advocate who is higher in the perceived societal hierarchy that has caused medical situations that could have ended her life on at least two accounts: “One led to me dying twice in an emergency surgery and 10 days of a coma.”
Taking into account that in her experience, medical professionals still at times hold the opinions of women as lower, and since she’s got a chronic disease, doctors like to use that as a scapegoat to explain anything that’s wrong, she’s noticed a certain ratio of which doctors are more likely to ignore her.
In primary care, doctors are usually there because they care, so they’re likely to listen. In specialty fields like neurology or orthopedics, doctors who have some experience but aren’t yet burned out are the way to go, according to OP.
Denelian says that only about 25% of ER doctors listen to her, seeing any complaint related to pain as drug seeking. But the bigger issue is that ER doctors are very understaffed and overworked, dealing with lots of people who go get emergency help whenever they have the slightest of issues.
We also asked her about her experience with complaints. As a lot of doctors in her experience don’t work for the hospital, only working at it part time and billing patients separately, complaints may not go anywhere. If there’s actually malpractice, a hospital may encourage you to file charges and remove them from working with you, in denelian’s experience.
It’s also possible to report them to your state’s board, if you’re in the US, but OP doesn’t have experience with that as she’s had good doctors who listen to her for a while now.
Image credits: NEC Corporation of America (not the actual photo)
To gain more informed context, we also reached out to Sid Schwab, owner of the now-inactive Surgeonsblog and Cutting Through The Cr*p, his own personal blog. When the former blog was active, it would get hundreds of visits per day, even being mentioned by The New York Times as one of the five medical blogs worth following.
Sid still answers medical and surgical questions on Quora and has spoken about concerns about whether opiate prescriptions have gone too far.
"Yes, I think the pendulum has swung too far. In my surgical career I had no hesitation about sending people home with appropriate opiates for an appropriate amount of time. I had no patients who abused them, or tried to. Never had a patient become addicted. It’s a matter of taking proper care.
When there are non-narcotic, non-addictive meds that’ll suffice, that’s what should be used. But narcotics have a role to play, especially for many surgery patients.”
Sid continues, on a more personal note. When he had knee surgery, he was also prescribed oxycodone but got along with ibuprofen. On the other hand, his wife couldn’t get along without oxycodone after her back surgery because of the severe back pain, even though she tried non-opiates.
The role of opiates is still there, even if doctors are overly reluctant to prescribe them. Prescribers and patients have abused opiates, so it’s good to be cautious but incorrect to be unable to tell when they’re needed.
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
“As with pretty much any medical or surgical intervention, the internet is rife with horror stories. In my career, for example, I removed thousands of gallbladders. With rare exceptions, patients were happy and grateful. But if you look online, you’ll find very few posts from happy patients; it’s the nature of those medical sites.”
“The same is true for medical errors and bad doctors,” Sid continues, “they certainly exist, and it’s shameful.” Some doctors are horrible with patient interaction, and it drives Sid crazy. But it’s not a one-way street. Patients also show up armed to the teeth with loads of misinformation and a firm grasp of 'the truth.'”
Nevertheless, in Sid’s opinion, the more information a patient has, the better, and it includes things they’ve learned before seeing a doctor. It may be frustrating to spend time clearing up patients’ misconceptions. “I took lots of time to explain things in easy-to-understand terms. I wrote pamphlets covering each of the common operations I did. I’ve had many patients say they’d never had a doctor explain things so well, and I loved hearing it. You’d think it’d be a trait common to all doctors involved in patient care, but it isn’t.”
The doctor from OP’s story is clearly arrogant, which is a sentiment people often share about doctors. A Quora thread asking “Why are doctors so arrogant?” gives us varied explanations.
Some say it’s because people put the profession on a pedestal, others cite that doctors consider their education better than most people’s.
Some answers are very reasonable, explaining that in reality, doctors aren’t more arrogant than other professions, perhaps even more humble, because of the trials they must endure - studying, residency, specialization.
But the fact still remains: there are arrogant people working as doctors out there. These professionals won’t listen to you, will plainly refuse your symptoms and make you feel bad about yourself.
This is unfortunately especially true for women, as studies have shown that women must wait in the emergency room 33% longer than men with similar symptoms.
Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)
Northwell Health discusses the phenomenon of women being gaslighted by medical professionals in depth, and suggests that women should seek a second opinion if they feel their opinions or feelings are being undervalued.
Another way to avoid being discriminated against by a doctor, especially in specific cases of medication, such as OP’s, is tracking your medical health, according to Guava Health.
It will allow you to switch healthcare providers more easily, allow you to convey your health issues to your doctors easier, give you a sense of control over your medical documents, and help you keep track of your medication, among other benefits.
Doing this will give you something to point at and tell your doctor “look, you may not believe it, but I’ve got all the documentation right here.” A quick Google search gives lots of hits for apps and websites that do so, with advice on how to retrieve and collect your medical records if this sounds interesting to you.
You can also refer them to the doctor who performed the evaluation or wrote the prescription to make sure that what you’re saying is correct.
Finally, Very Well Health has some advice for people dealing with arrogant doctors. They suggest that your goal with them should be to establish a working relationship, as they will likely deny their ego or bully-like behavior. It may also be important to realize that their behavior may not impact their skills as a healthcare professional.
If the doctor gets upset with you for asking questions, try to smooth things over by saying that you simply want to understand your condition and their diagnosis. Attempt to be objective and don’t be intimidated by them.
And never ever forget that great health professionals exist out there and that you should attempt to change to a better one if you’ve got the chance.
And never ever forget that great health professionals exist out there and that you should attempt to change to a better one if you’ve got the chance.
OP’s post collected 6.5k upvotes and nearly 700 comments, with lots of support in the comments. People shared their own stories and how scary their egotistical and negligent behavior can be at times. If you have any stories of your own, don’t hesitate to share them in the comments below.
The community supported the poster, with medical professionals even chiming in to say how upsetting the story was
