Clear and effective communication makes work and life so much simpler when it’s present. When there’s more or less total transparency and everyone’s on the same page, it’s far easier to do whatever it is you aim to do. In some areas, however, communication is far more important than in others. Sometimes, a white lie, a misspoken ‘fact,’ or an inability to mention a single detail can be the difference between life and death, health and illness.
For instance, medical professionals need a lot of information about their patients and their medical histories in order to treat them appropriately. Whether a patient is seriously ill, has been injured, or has come for a run-of-the-mill health checkup, failing to mention something that seems unimportant can have dire consequences.
The doctors of Reddit shared their stories about their very worst ‘I don’t think this is important, but-’ patients. Scroll down and have a read about how failing to disclose something a patient thought was meaningless actually turned out to be very meaningful. If we have any Doctor Pandas in the house today, you can share your own tales about miscommunicating patients in the comments, as a warning.
Bored Panda got in touch with Dr. Andrew Carroll, the CEO/Medical Director of Atembis LLC and Family Physician, for some insights about trust between doctors and their patients, what patients should prioritize communicating to medical professionals, and how experiencing pain differs between individuals.
"When you have a long-term relationship with a physician, it’s easier for there to be a two-way trust relationship. Our patients trust us to be knowledgeable, thorough, non-judgmental, and wise. We trust our patients to be honest, forthright, and open to a conversation. That’s more difficult when you’re seeing someone at an urgent care or emergency room because these are people you don’t typically know. That’s the value of having a Family Physician/Generalist," he explained to us.
"Also, just know that sometimes there’s a detail you may think of that you believe may not be important, but might be crucial to making a diagnosis. Just be honest and tell us."
#1
Had a male come in with pancreatitis. Asking him some basic history..
"How much do you drink alcohol?"
"I don't use alcohol."
Ok, well not my first time so..
"Do you drink beer?"
"Yeah well after sauna I have some beer." (we are in Finland where sauna and beer go very well and frequently together)
"Ok, how many beers you have after sauna?"
"A case" (24 cans/case)
"And how many times per week you got to sauna?"
"3 to 4 times per week"
So he doesn't drink any alcohol, but 70-100 cans of beer per week.
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304points
According to Dr. Carroll, the CEO of Atembis LLC, the information that a patient should prioritize telling their doctor depends on the specific situation.
"What are you concerned about? What is it that got you into the doctor in an urgency? Does your chest pain remind you of when your father had his heart attack? Are you losing weight, but you don’t know why because you haven’t changed anything? Is your period late when you are always on time, no matter what? What has changed, what is different? Then tell us the story," the doctor shared what patients should consider.
#2
Everyone at my company knows the story of the patient who came in for genetic counseling, went through their whole family history with the counselor, and then concluded with "Oh yeah, I was adopted as a baby and don't know who my birth parents are, does that matter?"
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277points
#3
Intercepted a young woman who was just hit by a car. Her boyfriend was standing with her freaking out. I do a basic physical exam and get a history, and make her comfortable as we wait for the ambulance to arrive.
Once the ambulance arrives they ask for the same information, except this time the boyfriend mentions he was the one who was actually hit by the car and was shielding his girlfriend's body. The entire car's windshield was cracked by the impact of his back. He was just freaking out and worried about her, and was in shock and hadn't begun to feel any pain yet.
268points
"It is easier for us as physicians to not ask a ton of questions, but to just let you tell us the story of what happened. Make it descriptive and rich. Start from the beginning or even before the beginning, and don’t stop until the end when you arrived at the doctor’s office. We can fill in any needed details after you’re done telling your story."
Dr. Carroll noted that the pain experience of an individual is very different between people. "There are many factors that go into it: genetics, upbringing, previous pain experience chronic illness (diabetes, heart disease), neurologic injury, substance abuse and addiction, ethnicity, history of mental, physical, and sexual abuse, current medications," he said that this list isn't exhaustive.
#4
As a patient, but this is too fresh not to share. I'm 32 and at work Friday morning (as in 2 days ago) I started having pain in my lower molars around 10:40am. It eventually got so bad I left work and went to urgent care (noon). I thought it was a gum infection and I'd get some antibiotics and ibuprofen and be told to see a dentist or something. I had to keep apologizing to the intake person because I was stumbling over my words, unfocused because of pain.
When the urgent care Doc came in (1pm) she talked to me for about 30 seconds before peeping in my mouth and saying my gums were fine, then checking my eyes with a flashlight and calling an ambulance. By the time I got to the hospital (2ish?) I was basically nonverbal and my attempts at texting had become disjointed. My spouse met me in the ER after a CT scan and helped me consent to an IV clot buster (TPA) at about 3pm. I'd had a stroke.
For those doing the timeline math at home, YIKES.
Good news: the TPA worked very fast and I'm hopefully getting discharged tonight. I owe that urgent care doc a thank you note.
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267points
#5
As a patient I had a doctor tell me "I don't think this is important".
My physio had identified a mole on my back that had changed colours. Being fair skinned, and Australian, I was obviously concerned about melanoma so I went to my doctor for a checkup. He looked at it and said "it's nothing don't worry". I insisted that since I'd made the effort to come in he might as well take a biopsy and get it tested. He was reluctant but I insisted and he eventually removed the mole for testing.
A few days later the doctor rang and informed me that I had a very nasty malignant melanoma and needed surgery immediately if not before. Two days later I was in hospital and they removed a lump from my shoulder three inches across and two inches deep. Cancer free now for 8 years but if I had taken the doctor at his word of "it's nothing" I'd most likely be dead now.
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231points
#6
Had a male in his 50s WALKS into trauma to have his left thigh stitched up. Not an uncommon wound in an agricultural area. Speaking to him while stitching him up he tells me he fell off a ladder while cutting a branch and the machete sliced him on the way down. Told him I was going to write him up for an xray of the entire leg just in case. He kept on saying he was fine, his knee hurt a bit but logically that was from the fall, I agreed, but asked him to go to the xray department just in case.
He reluctantly walk there and back. X-rays showed a helical fracture almost the entire length of his femur! Besides being a dangerous fracture the femur is supposed to be the most painful bone to break and he was walking around.
In the end had to show him the break to get him to sit down on a wheelchair and into the hands of orthopedics. That man's pain tolerance still impresses me.
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226points
Real life might not be like an episode of ‘House,’ but a single detail can change how medical professionals approach your treatment. Patients, especially if they’re ill or hurt, aren’t in the best condition to know what information might be vital for doctors to know and what’s useless, so it’s best to be fully open and honest.
In short, the more information you give your doctor, the more they know about your medical history, the more appropriate and effective the treatment they can give you. What’s more, this can help them diagnose any illnesses you might have, whether hereditary or not.
So it’s best to tell the professionals about your medical history, your family, what surgeries you’ve had, what allergies you have, and what medication you use. And if you’ve had an accident or mysteriously fallen ill, details from the actual incident or preceding days and weeks can help turn the tide in your favor.
“Family medical history is a record of health information about a person’s family, usually including three generations of relatives. Families share genetic makeups, environments, and lifestyle—these factors can provide insight into medical conditions that may run in your family. Noticing concerns in a patient’s health as well as having an understanding patterns of diseases or disorders will make a diagnosis more likely, which is particularly important in catching something harmful early,” writes ‘My GP.’
#7
I was an internal medicine resident who had a patient come to my clinic for “persistent flu”.
I had never seen her before, and she was a healthy appearing woman in her 60s. About a month before seeing me, she was seen by her PCP with persistent coughing, and otherwise had no shortness of breath or other infectious symptoms. Just a dry cough. She got tested for flu and was negative, but got tamiflu just incase it was a false negative. She had a chest X-ray which was normal. She came to me a month later because her cough persisted despite completing her therapy.
Everything sounded great. Heart, lungs, everything. To be honest I don’t usually do this, but something in my gut told me to feel for lymph nodes. I felt around and found something above her left clavicle. It was hard, round, and she was completely unaware of it. I told her it was probably a reactive lymph node, but just incase, I wanted to get an ultrasound. This cascaded into her getting a biopsy, which showed squamous cell lung cancer. A CT scan showed stage IV lung cancer, not seen on her chest X-ray. All diagnosed because of a lymph node that almost by chance I was lucky enough to find by being thorough.
I checked her chart about a year ago, and she was doing well. She got therapy and was in remission after a very long road and many obstacles. I’ll never forget her or her case.
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222points
#8
Had a patient come into the ER with some sort of spider/bug bite on her hand that had progressed to a red line running up her arm. She stated she put Benadryl cream on and it was very itchy.
We continued talking and I asked if she had any allergies…”yes, Benadryl.” I thought good lord wtf and I’m sure it was reflected on my face.
We washed the Benadryl cream off her arm and miraculously it stopped itching.
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199points
#9
Me "do you have any medical history? Including things like heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure?"
Patient "no, nothing ever"
Me "so why do you take [list of heart meds]"
Patient "oh I've had multiple cardiac arrests"
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196points
Meanwhile, ‘Web MD’ notes that this information gives your doctor important clues about your health. Many diseases run in families, after all.
“The history also tells your doctor what health issues you may be at risk for in the future. If your doctor learns, for example, that both of your parents have heart disease, they may focus on your heart health when you’re much younger than other patients who don’t have a family history of heart disease.”
Trust can lead to more openness and honesty. According to a study published in 2017, researchers found that the actions that help build trust between doctors and patients included providing reassurance, telling them that it’s fine to ask questions, and showing them their lab results and explaining what they mean.
What’s more, doctors ought to avoid judging their patients through their use of language and their behavior, and should ask the patients what they want in terms of treatment goals and preferences. What patients truly want is to deal with medical staff who are knowledgeable and genuinely care about them.
#10
I had to take out the remainder of this guy's teeth. He was in his 60’s and told us verbally and on his health history that he didn't take any meds. So I took out his last 8 teeth, all easy extractions due to infections and periodontal disease. But I couldn't get him to stop bleeding. I asked him again if he was taking anything. I finally got the clots stabilized, but it took almost an hour and I had to consult our oral surgeon. When he saw the oral surgeon a few months later about placing implants, he told the oral surgeon he was on BP medication and blood thinners. I refused to see him anymore after that.
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193points
#11
Me: "do you have any chronic diseases like Diabetes or high blood pressure?"
Patients: "no :)))))"
Me: "but you do inject Insulin daily?'
Patients: "yeah :)))"
"What's that for then?"
"oh, for my sugar, ya know"
Patients: "no :)))))"
Me: "but you do inject Insulin daily?'
Patients: "yeah :)))"
"What's that for then?"
"oh, for my sugar, ya know"
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181points
#12
Had to perform an extraction, took a detailed medical history. Patient said they were a diabetic and a hypertensive. Both a big contraindication in extractions due to uncontrollable bleeding. Unless they're meticulous about their taking their medicines and you stop the blood thinners five days prior to surgery, it's usually a blood bath.
I asked the well educated, 50 year old woman a number of times if she took her diabetes medicines on time and if she does at home rapid tests to check her blood sugar. She said she takes them everyday without fail and hasn't missed a day in over two years. She said she's super disciplined about her health and would tell me if she hadn't taken them.
I sent her in for a Rapid blood sugar test anyway, as a precaution, and lo and behold her values come back as 282mg. Almost twice as much as the normal value so it wasn't even like she was JUST off the mark.
I ask her to explain and she gives a shocked expression and insisted that she took them. I ask her to physically show me her medicines instead of listing them out and she finally says oh I don't have it right now, I make it when I need it. 'make'.
I ask her to explain and she gives a shocked expression and insisted that she took them. I ask her to physically show me her medicines instead of listing them out and she finally says oh I don't have it right now, I make it when I need it. 'make'.
She drinks bitter gourd juice on time everyday instead of her diabetic pills because they are too big.
And she 100% believed bitter gourd juice was the only medication she needs.
She's a high school teacher.
And she 100% believed bitter gourd juice was the only medication she needs.
She's a high school teacher.
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170points
#13
5 year old girl, at a pediatrician visit her mother said she was “acting loopy.” A day later a scan confirmed a massive brain tumor in inoperable real estate. Three weeks later I did her autopsy.
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168points
#14
Emergency radiologist here.
I see plenty of people presenting with understated symptoms that turn out to be mind blowing advanced disease.
The saddest one was probably the 4 year old boy who presented with a rigid abdomen for a few months. Was told by their pediatrician it was constipation months ago but his parents never followed up when it didn't resolve. When I imaged his abdomen I found his entire liver was replaced with a mass consistent with hepatoblastoma. I asked the parents why they waited so long to work it up. They said they were satisfied with the diagnosis of constipation. That one left a mark on my soul.
I see plenty of people presenting with understated symptoms that turn out to be mind blowing advanced disease.
The saddest one was probably the 4 year old boy who presented with a rigid abdomen for a few months. Was told by their pediatrician it was constipation months ago but his parents never followed up when it didn't resolve. When I imaged his abdomen I found his entire liver was replaced with a mass consistent with hepatoblastoma. I asked the parents why they waited so long to work it up. They said they were satisfied with the diagnosis of constipation. That one left a mark on my soul.
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159points
#15
When I was in my final years of med school (English division of a European University in a country where I speak the native language fluently) we were to do patient interviews and physical examinations on our own and then circle back to our supervisor.
I was translating back and forth between the patient (infectious diseases department) and a fellow classmate whom I was doing the interview with. The patient said "so you guys are coming in on a Saturday to do patient work? Good for you for going the extra mile" (it was a Friday, which I initially brushed off as a mistake)
My classmate asked me to ask the patient if he could tell us the date. I was like "are you sure? He's here for an infection not head trauma, he might think it's a bit degrading". I thought it wasn't important but she insisted so I translated the question.
Patient replies "ah well its 2002, of course!" (it was 2018).
After more questioning we realised all of his replies were all as if it were 2002 (eg. "The last trip I went on was to Africa in the 80's, so about 15 years ago")
After more questioning we realised all of his replies were all as if it were 2002 (eg. "The last trip I went on was to Africa in the 80's, so about 15 years ago")
As it turns out he had neurosyphilis that went unchecked for many many years.
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154points
#16
Me: I know my vision is a bit funny at the moment - I will go and get an eye test soon.
Wife, after 4 weeks of me pulling my glasses to the end of my nose: Enough! I'm booking you a test.
Optician: Yeah, something isn't right - something is pushing in to your eyes from in your brain. You need to go to hospital. I'll call them now.
Phone call from hospital, while I'm in the opticians...
Me: Yeah, I can come in - but I'm taking my car in for a service on Weds - will Thursday be okay?
Them: Err.. okay?
Turns out I had a brain tumour in my Pineal Gland that was blocking the normal exit of brain fluid. Three surgeries and a round of radiotherapy later and it's 90% gone.
My wife, the optician and the brain surgeon saved my life, because I was too casual to save it myself.
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150points
#17
Had twins in the NICU with a rare genetic defect that was causing serious pulmonary distress….extraordinarily, one of our long time nurses recognized the last name and realized she had taken care of their mom while she was hospitalized on the pediatric unit some years before….the mom never thought to tell us she had the same rare genetic pulmonary insufficiency. Could have saved us about of week of tests.
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144points
#18
One of my first patients as a medical student, we were asking her about prior medical history bc she was in a waitlist for an intestinal transplant, and we asked her in every possible way if she had any history and she was like "no, I was very healthy before this."
Finally we ask her "do you take any medications at home?" and she goes "oh, just the meds I take for the lupus"
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140points
#19
I once check in a guy and asked him if he'd had any previous surgery.
"No, never"
When I examined him he had a surgical scar from just above his pubic bone, to just below the sternum.
"What's that then?" I asked.
He stared down at it and said:
"I've never noticed that before"
WTF????
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140points
#20
While pregnant with me, my mom was wrapping up an OB appointment. The GYN had already left the room, mom was gathering herself to leave and mentioned to the nurse her contacts were messing with her - she had spots in her vision.
The nurse stopped and asked her to sit down. Brought back in the GYN, who had her stay and deliver me via emergency c section. Without anyone knowing it, she had spontaneously developed pre-eclampsia and her blood pressure was rocketing sky high.
She was dangerously close to having a seizure and that would've been that if she hadn't mentioned the spots in her vision and just left as the appointment was over, or the nurse didn't listen.
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140points