Doctors share stories of patients who came in for routine checkups but ended up needing major surgery, showing how unpredictable health can be.
Usually, when we visit a doctor, it’s for something simple, a routine checkup, a mild headache, or maybe a weird ache that’s been bothering us for a few days. Most of the time, you expect a quick diagnosis, a prescription, and to be on your way.
But what happens when what seems like a small inconvenience suddenly takes a serious turn? Imagine going in for what you thought was a minor issue, only to find yourself being prepped for surgery within hours.
Well, that’s exactly what happened to these patients. Doctors and patients online are sharing shocking stories of how a “quick appointment” turned into an unexpected trip to the operating room, and some of them sound straight out of a medical drama. Keep reading, you might think twice the next time you brush off a “minor” symptom.
#1
Not a doctor, but a paramedic of reddit.
When I was a brand new medic we got a call Sunday morning for a twenty something year old male vomiting, with a small amount of blood in the vomit. I speak two languages, my partner at the time was from a former soviet-bloc country and spoke about 5 fluently. Believe me when I say this guy got cursed out the entire ride to his house in 7 languages. A twenty something year old called because he was throwing up? On a Sunday morning? Dude. You have a hangover ffs.
We arrive and are met downstairs by his girlfriend who is panicking and confirms they went out drinking the night before. We roll our eyes, grab our gear and head upstairs.
As soon as we see the patient our tone changes. Guy is Asian, but is paler than printer paper, soaked with sweat, is cold when I touch him and is barely conscious. I look next to his bed and “a small amount of blood in the vomit” is in reality a medium sized garbage can, almost 1/4 full of straight blood.
His blood pressure is low, around 70/30, his heart rate is compensating by beating at about 160 times per minute. We get a big IV in him and replace about a liter of fluid. His vitals improve, he comes around enough to answer questions. He says he drank 2 beers last night and smoked some pot. He says he has never been able to have more than a few beers without getting sick for days.
I ask about his medical history and he says he has had general digestive issues his whole life but never anything like this- just has to have a low fat diet or else horrific diarrhea. Bad hemorrhoids, low grade abdominal pain constantly tbat has never been given a clear diagnosis. Nothing on paper to go from.
We get him to the hospital and drop him off in critical. In one of my only true Dr House moments, as I’m walking out I tell the triage nurse exactly what the issue is.
From the deepest depth of a half slept through lecture during paramedic school, I remember all these symptoms. He has an undiagnosed liver issue, which is causing bloodflow through his liver to get backed up. When the liver doesn’t work properly, you can’t digest alcohol or fat effectively. When blood starts backing up it causes portal hypertension which causes hemorrhoids and basically hemorrhoids in the esophagus, called esophageal varices. One of these varices has popped and he was bleeding out through his esophagus.
One of the only times I have correctly diagnosed a problem beyond “hey this drunk guy has been drinking alcohol!”.
When I was a brand new medic we got a call Sunday morning for a twenty something year old male vomiting, with a small amount of blood in the vomit. I speak two languages, my partner at the time was from a former soviet-bloc country and spoke about 5 fluently. Believe me when I say this guy got cursed out the entire ride to his house in 7 languages. A twenty something year old called because he was throwing up? On a Sunday morning? Dude. You have a hangover ffs.
We arrive and are met downstairs by his girlfriend who is panicking and confirms they went out drinking the night before. We roll our eyes, grab our gear and head upstairs.
As soon as we see the patient our tone changes. Guy is Asian, but is paler than printer paper, soaked with sweat, is cold when I touch him and is barely conscious. I look next to his bed and “a small amount of blood in the vomit” is in reality a medium sized garbage can, almost 1/4 full of straight blood.
His blood pressure is low, around 70/30, his heart rate is compensating by beating at about 160 times per minute. We get a big IV in him and replace about a liter of fluid. His vitals improve, he comes around enough to answer questions. He says he drank 2 beers last night and smoked some pot. He says he has never been able to have more than a few beers without getting sick for days.
I ask about his medical history and he says he has had general digestive issues his whole life but never anything like this- just has to have a low fat diet or else horrific diarrhea. Bad hemorrhoids, low grade abdominal pain constantly tbat has never been given a clear diagnosis. Nothing on paper to go from.
We get him to the hospital and drop him off in critical. In one of my only true Dr House moments, as I’m walking out I tell the triage nurse exactly what the issue is.
From the deepest depth of a half slept through lecture during paramedic school, I remember all these symptoms. He has an undiagnosed liver issue, which is causing bloodflow through his liver to get backed up. When the liver doesn’t work properly, you can’t digest alcohol or fat effectively. When blood starts backing up it causes portal hypertension which causes hemorrhoids and basically hemorrhoids in the esophagus, called esophageal varices. One of these varices has popped and he was bleeding out through his esophagus.
One of the only times I have correctly diagnosed a problem beyond “hey this drunk guy has been drinking alcohol!”.
33points
#2
I was/am the patient. I work construction for a living and was working a job removing some very heavy laminated glass. Strenuous lifting all day long. During the course of the gig, my left testicle began to swell and hurt, and wasn’t getting any better. I told my supervisor I suspected I had given myself a hernia, not unheard of in my field, and went to the occupational healthcare clinic in town. The sweetest grandmotherly physician did the whole turn-your-head-and-cough deal. Awkward, necessary, but yielded nothing. She recommends I check myself into the emergency room and get an ultrasound. Well, when the ultrasound tech finished the session by saying “good luck to you, buddy” I suspected something amiss. Well, one removed testicle, a round of chemotherapy, and an abdominal lymph node removal later, testicular cancer hasn’t beaten me down. I’m awaiting my four-month post-surgery CAT scan now. Fellas, check ya nuts.
Report
26points
#3
I'm the patient. I went to my doctor because I was tired. I asked to get my hormones checked, but my doctor is thorough and did a full exam and workup.
During the internal exam (I'm a lady) she said she felt something weird and referred me out for an ultrasound.
I had an external ultrasound and a transvaginal ultrasound that took nearly an hour with the tech snapping pictures the entire time (super fun /s).
Unfortunately the ultrasound didn't show anything clearly. Whatever was wrong with me wasn't an issue with my uterus.
My doctor referred me out for a CT. I went in, drank the gross goop, and they took a bunch of pictures of my pelvic region.
I get a call from my doctor who says I need to meet with a surgeon right away. I get an appointment the next week. If you haven't had a CT scan done before, it's a series of images that are slices of your body shown as contrast in black and white. As the surgeon scrolled through the images, they showed the inside of my pelvic region slowly becoming full of white as he scrolled up and down my body.
I had a tumor the size of a football in my pelvic region.
And the only symptom that prompted me to go in was feeling so tired I couldn't finish a normal gym workout.
Looking back I also realized that I still felt like I had to go to the bathroom sometimes even though I had just gone because it was putting pressure on my bladder.
They scheduled surgery for a few weeks later. Because it was my entire pelvic region, they weren't sure what they would find when they went in...like, what was tumor, what wasn't, and what it was attached to. There were at least 3 specialists in the room with my general surgeon.
It was actually much better than thought. Took about two hours to remove. No major organs involved other than a few internal lady bits, and only minimal side effects. The biopsy showed it was benign.
During the internal exam (I'm a lady) she said she felt something weird and referred me out for an ultrasound.
I had an external ultrasound and a transvaginal ultrasound that took nearly an hour with the tech snapping pictures the entire time (super fun /s).
Unfortunately the ultrasound didn't show anything clearly. Whatever was wrong with me wasn't an issue with my uterus.
My doctor referred me out for a CT. I went in, drank the gross goop, and they took a bunch of pictures of my pelvic region.
I get a call from my doctor who says I need to meet with a surgeon right away. I get an appointment the next week. If you haven't had a CT scan done before, it's a series of images that are slices of your body shown as contrast in black and white. As the surgeon scrolled through the images, they showed the inside of my pelvic region slowly becoming full of white as he scrolled up and down my body.
I had a tumor the size of a football in my pelvic region.
And the only symptom that prompted me to go in was feeling so tired I couldn't finish a normal gym workout.
Looking back I also realized that I still felt like I had to go to the bathroom sometimes even though I had just gone because it was putting pressure on my bladder.
They scheduled surgery for a few weeks later. Because it was my entire pelvic region, they weren't sure what they would find when they went in...like, what was tumor, what wasn't, and what it was attached to. There were at least 3 specialists in the room with my general surgeon.
It was actually much better than thought. Took about two hours to remove. No major organs involved other than a few internal lady bits, and only minimal side effects. The biopsy showed it was benign.
25points
Visiting the doctor is a universal experience, but let’s face it, it’s not always fun. From the antiseptic smell in the clinic to waiting in a crowded reception area, the anticipation alone can make your heart race. Some people dread injections, while others worry about the possibility of bad news. Even adults, who logically understand the importance of checkups, can feel uneasy before stepping into a doctor’s office.
Anxiety and fear around medical visits are more common than we think. Many patients admit that part of their hesitation comes from guilt or embarrassment about their habits. Skipping workouts, indulging in unhealthy foods, or ignoring small symptoms can make them hesitant to face the truth. They know they should have addressed it sooner, which only makes the anxiety worse.
#4
I was the patient.
I got into a 60mph motorcycle accident a year ago. I slammed into a guardrail. It seemed like there were no serious injuries than some scrapes and a pain in my back.
I was transported to the ER anyway, they did an X-ray, told me I had bruised muscle, and attempted to send me on my way.
Except when I sat up I couldn't lift my a*s up to put on my pants before stepping off the gurney because my back hurt so bad.
They run another X-ray, do an MRI, and a few minutes later the room is flooded with doctors and nurses.
I had a fracture-dislocation of vertebrae T2-T8. Basically my spine was in half and parallel to itself. On top of this, they missed the fact that my lung had collapsed and was filling with blood. Hemopneumothorax. They had never seen someone like this who could still walk. I had basically won the medical equivalent of the lottery that day. I was life-flighted to a level 1 hospital in my state and 5 hours later had 14 inches of titanium put in my back. I was only in the hospital for 9 days and required no rehab.
I got into a 60mph motorcycle accident a year ago. I slammed into a guardrail. It seemed like there were no serious injuries than some scrapes and a pain in my back.
I was transported to the ER anyway, they did an X-ray, told me I had bruised muscle, and attempted to send me on my way.
Except when I sat up I couldn't lift my a*s up to put on my pants before stepping off the gurney because my back hurt so bad.
They run another X-ray, do an MRI, and a few minutes later the room is flooded with doctors and nurses.
I had a fracture-dislocation of vertebrae T2-T8. Basically my spine was in half and parallel to itself. On top of this, they missed the fact that my lung had collapsed and was filling with blood. Hemopneumothorax. They had never seen someone like this who could still walk. I had basically won the medical equivalent of the lottery that day. I was life-flighted to a level 1 hospital in my state and 5 hours later had 14 inches of titanium put in my back. I was only in the hospital for 9 days and required no rehab.
Report
23points
#5
I was the patient, not the doctor.
September a few years back I was working 20 hour days in an office chair during "crunch time" for a big event. The day before the big event (in a remote desert location, similar to but not Burning Man), I did another all-nighter and took an hour nap before last push prior to travel. I woke up unable to lift my arms, the feeling of an elephant standing on my chest, and a headache when I never got headaches. My husband took me to Urgent Care, where I was diagnosed with acid reflux, given a painkiller shot in my booty, handed a dixie cup of something chalky and awful, and sent home.
I finished my work and went a day late to the big event. I spent 5 days walking around in 110 degree heat doing my job, still unable to lift my arms, but otherwise got through it.
A few months later, I went to a club with friends and danced all night. The next morning my calf hurt pretty badly. Thought maybe I had pulled my calf muscle. Over the next two days, the calf pain got worse and worse, until the day before Christmas I pulled out some old crutches. My husband wanted to hit up the climbing gym, so I went along and hung out with all our friends while they climbed. we stopped by Urgent Care right after. I was unable to put any weight on my leg at this point.
The doctor did a quick exam and put my leg in a compression boot. Told me it was a muscle tear or sprain, and to keep it iced and elevated for a few days.
The nurse waited for the doctor to leave, and pulled us aside. She said she had a strange feeling about it and asked if we'd be willing to go have an emergency ultrasound done at the nearby hospital. We figured it wouldn't hurt "just in case."
While in the ultrasound tech's room, a lovely Russian-born tech started out cheery and making jokes with us. About 5 minutes in, she got quiet and excused herself. Moments later, a doctor came in, looked at the screen, and told me not to move. There was an 8cm blood clot in my leg.
I was moved to a gurney and rushed to the ER in the same hospital. The ER doc said I was incredibly lucky. He sent me for a CT scan of my chest "just to be sure," saying it was just a precaution. Turned out I had 7 pulmonary emboli in my right lung, and 5 in my left lung. When he saw the results, he had "the talk" with us explaining the gravity of the situation. I spent 4 months in my bed on blood thinners not allowed to move while the clot resolved, with three additional ER visits due to cardiac incidents from blood clot bits breaking off and pushing through my heart.
My docs said it was most likely due to the number of emboli in my lungs and the size and placement of the clot that I'd likely had it back that September, and what was diagnosed as "acid reflux" was actually another piece of clot triggering a cardiac incident.
And that is the story of how my noodle arms and calf sprain turned out to be deep vein thrombosis with multiple pulmonary emboli.
I am very glad to still be here to type to total strangers about it. If that nurse hadn't second-guessed the doctor on Christmas Eve, I would probably not be.
September a few years back I was working 20 hour days in an office chair during "crunch time" for a big event. The day before the big event (in a remote desert location, similar to but not Burning Man), I did another all-nighter and took an hour nap before last push prior to travel. I woke up unable to lift my arms, the feeling of an elephant standing on my chest, and a headache when I never got headaches. My husband took me to Urgent Care, where I was diagnosed with acid reflux, given a painkiller shot in my booty, handed a dixie cup of something chalky and awful, and sent home.
I finished my work and went a day late to the big event. I spent 5 days walking around in 110 degree heat doing my job, still unable to lift my arms, but otherwise got through it.
A few months later, I went to a club with friends and danced all night. The next morning my calf hurt pretty badly. Thought maybe I had pulled my calf muscle. Over the next two days, the calf pain got worse and worse, until the day before Christmas I pulled out some old crutches. My husband wanted to hit up the climbing gym, so I went along and hung out with all our friends while they climbed. we stopped by Urgent Care right after. I was unable to put any weight on my leg at this point.
The doctor did a quick exam and put my leg in a compression boot. Told me it was a muscle tear or sprain, and to keep it iced and elevated for a few days.
The nurse waited for the doctor to leave, and pulled us aside. She said she had a strange feeling about it and asked if we'd be willing to go have an emergency ultrasound done at the nearby hospital. We figured it wouldn't hurt "just in case."
While in the ultrasound tech's room, a lovely Russian-born tech started out cheery and making jokes with us. About 5 minutes in, she got quiet and excused herself. Moments later, a doctor came in, looked at the screen, and told me not to move. There was an 8cm blood clot in my leg.
I was moved to a gurney and rushed to the ER in the same hospital. The ER doc said I was incredibly lucky. He sent me for a CT scan of my chest "just to be sure," saying it was just a precaution. Turned out I had 7 pulmonary emboli in my right lung, and 5 in my left lung. When he saw the results, he had "the talk" with us explaining the gravity of the situation. I spent 4 months in my bed on blood thinners not allowed to move while the clot resolved, with three additional ER visits due to cardiac incidents from blood clot bits breaking off and pushing through my heart.
My docs said it was most likely due to the number of emboli in my lungs and the size and placement of the clot that I'd likely had it back that September, and what was diagnosed as "acid reflux" was actually another piece of clot triggering a cardiac incident.
And that is the story of how my noodle arms and calf sprain turned out to be deep vein thrombosis with multiple pulmonary emboli.
I am very glad to still be here to type to total strangers about it. If that nurse hadn't second-guessed the doctor on Christmas Eve, I would probably not be.
21points
#6
I remembered a second one. I teach an EMT class on the side and we were going through rare medical conditions that you can identify with little to no equipment.
Your aorta is the biggest artery in your body and if anything happens to it, it’s a big problem. It can develop an aneurysm (think a semi-failure of the wall, causing it to balloon out to the side, pending full rupture). I’m explaining the ways you can identify this in the field, one of which is to take both the radial pulses (wrist) simultaneously. They should beat together. If they are beating off-tempo, that can be a sign of an aortic aneurism.
I tell everyone to partner up and take both their partners pulses so you no what ‘normal’ feels like.
A hand is raised in the rear of the room.
“U/sam_neil! My partners pulses are wrong.”
I start by joking that students need to be more diligent in practicing taking vitals etc etc until I take the students pulses. Hers are indeed “wrong”. The head instructor and I go into work mode and do a barrage of other tests. She shows additional signs in a couple, but not all the tests.
We advise her to go to the hospital immediately. We explain that if you have an aortic aneurysm and it ruptures while you are on the operating table of the most skilled surgeon in the world your odds of survival are around 2%. She refuses and finishes class after we do CYA paperwork. She follows up with her doctor from childhood who, as she tells it, drags her by her ear into the ambulance he called.
It turned out to be a very minor aneurism, and she had a procedure to repair it and takes medication to keep her blood pressure low, but otherwise has a completely normal life.
Your aorta is the biggest artery in your body and if anything happens to it, it’s a big problem. It can develop an aneurysm (think a semi-failure of the wall, causing it to balloon out to the side, pending full rupture). I’m explaining the ways you can identify this in the field, one of which is to take both the radial pulses (wrist) simultaneously. They should beat together. If they are beating off-tempo, that can be a sign of an aortic aneurism.
I tell everyone to partner up and take both their partners pulses so you no what ‘normal’ feels like.
A hand is raised in the rear of the room.
“U/sam_neil! My partners pulses are wrong.”
I start by joking that students need to be more diligent in practicing taking vitals etc etc until I take the students pulses. Hers are indeed “wrong”. The head instructor and I go into work mode and do a barrage of other tests. She shows additional signs in a couple, but not all the tests.
We advise her to go to the hospital immediately. We explain that if you have an aortic aneurysm and it ruptures while you are on the operating table of the most skilled surgeon in the world your odds of survival are around 2%. She refuses and finishes class after we do CYA paperwork. She follows up with her doctor from childhood who, as she tells it, drags her by her ear into the ambulance he called.
It turned out to be a very minor aneurism, and she had a procedure to repair it and takes medication to keep her blood pressure low, but otherwise has a completely normal life.
20points
According to Harvard Health, anxiety around medical visits is growing. In 2023, nearly half of American adults reported feeling anxious before a doctor’s appointment, a noticeable increase from 39% the year before. The survey, conducted by OnePoll on a nationally representative sample of 2,000 people, highlights that pre-appointment nerves are a rising concern across age groups.
Dr. Alka Pradhan, a general physician with over 31 years of experience in Goregaon, Mumbai, explains why putting off doctor visits can be risky. “Putting off doctor visits due to anxiety can lead to serious consequences for your overall health,” she says. Whether it’s high blood pressure, cholesterol, or diabetes, leaving these conditions unchecked can lead to more serious complications later on.
#7
Not a doctor, but I worked in an emergency room in nursing school. I was sitting out in triage late one night, my nurse had ran to the back for a minute and a guy comes in, only complaint was a sore throat. Nothing else at all. Just a sore throat. But something was off, he had a slight grayish tone.
As a tech, I figured why the hell not. Told him to follow me and took him to our EKG area. Few minutes later, my nurse comes back and is looking at me like I'm nuts because I'm doing an EKG on a sore throat. I handed her the printout and she had an 'oh darn' look, he was having a STEMI (massive heart attack.)
My charge nurse came out later after the dust had settled and asked me what made me check him, I told her I didn't know he just didn't look right. Intuition can be a funny thing. Poor guy, he was slightly confused about the whole thing, he just wanted something to fix his throat irritation.
As a tech, I figured why the hell not. Told him to follow me and took him to our EKG area. Few minutes later, my nurse comes back and is looking at me like I'm nuts because I'm doing an EKG on a sore throat. I handed her the printout and she had an 'oh darn' look, he was having a STEMI (massive heart attack.)
My charge nurse came out later after the dust had settled and asked me what made me check him, I told her I didn't know he just didn't look right. Intuition can be a funny thing. Poor guy, he was slightly confused about the whole thing, he just wanted something to fix his throat irritation.
Report
20points
#8
A couple years ago, my mom was experiencing crazy back pains. She went to this one doctor every so often to get some pain medication and that doctor, for the life of him, couldn't find anything wrong with her, but could tell she was experiencing major pain, so gave it to her. One day, she's going in again and her doctor is out so she has a different one. While being checked up, the doctor says "So you're here for the broken back, then?" and my mom was really confused. Apparently, in 1999, she had been in a car accident where a tanker truck carrying gas rolled over her car and crushed her inside but nobody had apparently noticed that her back was broken for almost 16 years. She had surgery on the day of my birthday and she's been a happier and more easy going person since.
Report
20points
#9
I'm the patient. Went in for a recurring pain in my throat. Quadruple bypass a week later.
Report
19points
Dr. Pradhan, who completed her MBBS from Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Hospital in Mumbai in 1994, emphasizes the importance of regular monitoring. “Some conditions don’t show obvious symptoms initially, which is why regular checkups are essential. Early detection can prevent complications and give you peace of mind.” Preventive healthcare is not just about avoiding illness, but about maintaining overall wellness.
Annual health checkups, she explains, are crucial even if you feel perfectly healthy. “We often think, ‘I feel fine, so I don’t need a checkup,’ but many health issues develop silently. Blood pressure, sugar levels, and cholesterol may not have visible symptoms until it’s too late.” A simple routine appointment can sometimes reveal important information and guide lifestyle changes before problems escalate.
#10
Doctor here.
I had one a few months ago sent into the hospital by his primary care doctor with 'shoulder pain'. He said he felt absolutely fine, just a really uncomfortable right shoulder pain that hadn't gone away for a couple of weeks. He maybe felt a bit more tired than usual and oh, come to think of it, had lost quite a bit of weight recently and none of his clothes fit him any more.
I went to examine him and had what we describe in the profession as a "heartsink" moment. He was jaundiced, and his abdomen was absolutely solid in the right upper zone from a huge, craggy liver.
Get him in the ct scanner and he is just fulllll of cancer. Everywhere. Couldn't even work out which was the primary.
The shoulder pain is what we call "referred pain" and is commonly caused by diaphragmatic irritation, in this case from all the liver masses pushing against it.
Bless him. I think about him a lot.
I had one a few months ago sent into the hospital by his primary care doctor with 'shoulder pain'. He said he felt absolutely fine, just a really uncomfortable right shoulder pain that hadn't gone away for a couple of weeks. He maybe felt a bit more tired than usual and oh, come to think of it, had lost quite a bit of weight recently and none of his clothes fit him any more.
I went to examine him and had what we describe in the profession as a "heartsink" moment. He was jaundiced, and his abdomen was absolutely solid in the right upper zone from a huge, craggy liver.
Get him in the ct scanner and he is just fulllll of cancer. Everywhere. Couldn't even work out which was the primary.
The shoulder pain is what we call "referred pain" and is commonly caused by diaphragmatic irritation, in this case from all the liver masses pushing against it.
Bless him. I think about him a lot.
Report
19points
#11
I went to my doctor thinking I had a bladder infection. I felt like I had to pee every 5 minutes. Doctor found nothing but sent me for an ultra sound.
Turns out I had a cyst the size of a grapefruit on one of my ovaries that was resting on my bladder. 5 days later I was in the hospital having my ovary removed.
Turns out I had a cyst the size of a grapefruit on one of my ovaries that was resting on my bladder. 5 days later I was in the hospital having my ovary removed.
18points
#12
My mother was the patient. She and my grandmother had been in a car accident with a drunk driver, and were being checked out for whiplash and such. As they're signing discharge papers, a surgeon comes running into the room and says my mother can't leave.
Apparently she was missing her top 3 vertebrae. Her neck was being held in place purely by muscle. She was one of a handful of people ever found with this problem past the age of 2, and most are only found on autopsy.
So they ended up taking a chunk of her hip bone, sculpting it, then fusing it all together with enough wires to set off metal detectors for years.
Apparently she was missing her top 3 vertebrae. Her neck was being held in place purely by muscle. She was one of a handful of people ever found with this problem past the age of 2, and most are only found on autopsy.
So they ended up taking a chunk of her hip bone, sculpting it, then fusing it all together with enough wires to set off metal detectors for years.
Report
18points
Anxiety can make even a short visit feel overwhelming, but there are ways to manage it. Dr. Pradhan suggests bringing a familiar face along — a family member or friend who can distract and comfort you. “Having someone you trust in the room or waiting area can make a huge difference,” she says. Even small acts like holding a hand or sharing a laugh can calm nerves significantly.
#13
I'm not a doctor but I still have a story.
My dad had a bad stomach ache, didn't know the cause. It was bad, but we thought it was just a bad case of food poisoning. He was in emergency and the doctors saw a burst appendix, so they took him in for surgery.
Opened him up and it was stage 4 cancer.
He had several tumors removed and had to go to chemo. On chemo, got better, then got worse, another surgery, deteriorating health. Just pure chaos.
This was 4 years ago. He died just last year..
My dad had a bad stomach ache, didn't know the cause. It was bad, but we thought it was just a bad case of food poisoning. He was in emergency and the doctors saw a burst appendix, so they took him in for surgery.
Opened him up and it was stage 4 cancer.
He had several tumors removed and had to go to chemo. On chemo, got better, then got worse, another surgery, deteriorating health. Just pure chaos.
This was 4 years ago. He died just last year..
Report
16points
#14
Not a doctor, but my dad had a bit of pain that wouldn't go away 3 years ago, sat through all of Christmas morning, then as soon as my family and my sister's family left, he took himself to the emergency room I grant, but only because it was Christmas so there weren't any walk in clinics open, ER was only choice.
He had pancreatic cancer, and in the end he got the Whipple procedure done, then chemo after and latest news from his doctors is that its 100% gone, which is phenomenal for pancreatic.
Edit: He was super lucky there were any symptoms at all early enough for it to matter.
He had pancreatic cancer, and in the end he got the Whipple procedure done, then chemo after and latest news from his doctors is that its 100% gone, which is phenomenal for pancreatic.
Edit: He was super lucky there were any symptoms at all early enough for it to matter.
16points
#15
Not a doctor.
This one is completely on me because I did some questionable things as a kid.
I was 12. And growing up in Maine. I had a pellet gun that was advertised as shooting a .177 projectile at 1200 FPS. I had been shooting it for a few years so my parents would let me shoot it on my own out back as long as I wore safety glasses.
That afternoon during the summer I found a small piece of piping along the road in the front yard and brought it out back to shoot.
I took the first shot and instantly felt something hit me in the head.
I have a younger brother so I thought it was a pebble or something, And put the gun down to investigate. I think the only reason i didn’t immediately think I got hit by ricochet was because it didn’t hurt at all. The only thing I felt was a bump, like a small rock hit me in the head.
I didn’t notice the blood till I wiped my face to clear what I thought was sweat. I was greeted with a completely red hand. At this point it didn’t click that I got hit by a ricochet and I didn’t feel anything when I touched the cut so I didn’t worry.
I couldn’t stop the blood with anything outside and I couldn’t find my brother so I assumed the bullet just hit me but didn’t stick, because the cut was so long. so I had to open the front door and yell for my mom.
As soon as she passed the corner she turned white, *And started freaking out.* At this point the blood was covering the whole front of my shirt and was starting to drip onto the ground. I told her a total lie because I didn’t want them to take my pellet gun away, so I told them I hit myself with a metal pipe while flipping it in the air. She looked at my cut and could immediately tell I needed stitches and they rushed me to the urgent care in the next city.
When I got there the towel my dad wrapped around the top of my head was showing a lot of blood. When the nurse made me take off my towel, her eyes opened wide. You could see my skull in the cut. They took me within like ten min.
The doctor took a look at the wound and made me tell the story again while stitching up the inch long gash which started at my hair line at about 11 o’clock on my face.
The doctor decided to take an X Ray. I waited for them to come back with the results with my dad and after like 15 min the doctor came back in. He asked me to tell the story again. His next question was what kind of pipe shoots metal four inches under your scalp. He made me tell the real story and showed my dad the x ray and my dad was visibly pissed.
The next thing I knew I was in an ambulance on my way to the OR. Those guys didn’t even put me to sleep while they cut into my scalp. And pulled out a perfectly circular saw shaped piece of mushroomed lead That was almost 5 inches from the entrance point. They couldn’t remove one of the fragments because of its location and it was small.
My pellet rifle still got taken away.
TLDR:
Got hit by a ricochet, lied to my parents because I thought I could get away with it, still got punished because doctors had to remove a piece of lead from my head.
This one is completely on me because I did some questionable things as a kid.
I was 12. And growing up in Maine. I had a pellet gun that was advertised as shooting a .177 projectile at 1200 FPS. I had been shooting it for a few years so my parents would let me shoot it on my own out back as long as I wore safety glasses.
That afternoon during the summer I found a small piece of piping along the road in the front yard and brought it out back to shoot.
I took the first shot and instantly felt something hit me in the head.
I have a younger brother so I thought it was a pebble or something, And put the gun down to investigate. I think the only reason i didn’t immediately think I got hit by ricochet was because it didn’t hurt at all. The only thing I felt was a bump, like a small rock hit me in the head.
I didn’t notice the blood till I wiped my face to clear what I thought was sweat. I was greeted with a completely red hand. At this point it didn’t click that I got hit by a ricochet and I didn’t feel anything when I touched the cut so I didn’t worry.
I couldn’t stop the blood with anything outside and I couldn’t find my brother so I assumed the bullet just hit me but didn’t stick, because the cut was so long. so I had to open the front door and yell for my mom.
As soon as she passed the corner she turned white, *And started freaking out.* At this point the blood was covering the whole front of my shirt and was starting to drip onto the ground. I told her a total lie because I didn’t want them to take my pellet gun away, so I told them I hit myself with a metal pipe while flipping it in the air. She looked at my cut and could immediately tell I needed stitches and they rushed me to the urgent care in the next city.
When I got there the towel my dad wrapped around the top of my head was showing a lot of blood. When the nurse made me take off my towel, her eyes opened wide. You could see my skull in the cut. They took me within like ten min.
The doctor took a look at the wound and made me tell the story again while stitching up the inch long gash which started at my hair line at about 11 o’clock on my face.
The doctor decided to take an X Ray. I waited for them to come back with the results with my dad and after like 15 min the doctor came back in. He asked me to tell the story again. His next question was what kind of pipe shoots metal four inches under your scalp. He made me tell the real story and showed my dad the x ray and my dad was visibly pissed.
The next thing I knew I was in an ambulance on my way to the OR. Those guys didn’t even put me to sleep while they cut into my scalp. And pulled out a perfectly circular saw shaped piece of mushroomed lead That was almost 5 inches from the entrance point. They couldn’t remove one of the fragments because of its location and it was small.
My pellet rifle still got taken away.
TLDR:
Got hit by a ricochet, lied to my parents because I thought I could get away with it, still got punished because doctors had to remove a piece of lead from my head.
Report
14points
Preparation also helps. Before your appointment, take some time to understand the process. “Ask the clinic what the visit will involve. Knowing what to expect reduces uncertainty, which is often the root of anxiety,” Dr. Pradhan advises. Many patients find that understanding the flow of checkups, tests, and consultations removes a lot of the unknowns that trigger stress.
#16
Actually a doctor — pediatrician — so many stories....
Teenager comes in for ear pain and turns out there is a hornet stuck in the ear biting his canal and ear drum — had to have it surgically repaired
Kid comes into ER for cough for a couple weeks, parents are very worried and the kid looks “off”, so I order a chest xray. His mediastinum (the white part between the lungs) takes up almost the entirety of his chest. Massive tumor.
Kid with belly pain and vomiting for 12 hours. Belly exam is hard — not like she is flexing but like rigid as a board. Ultrasound for appendicitis shows a massive kidney tumor that went from right lung to bottom of the right pelvis. Wilms tumors are crazy!
Most recently had a little one in for a regular check up that parents had kept postponing. Kid can’t sit up alone and parents still have to feed — not normal for a 9 month. Ultrasound of the head shows too much water in the brain and the kid gets surgery within 24 hours.
Teenager comes in for ear pain and turns out there is a hornet stuck in the ear biting his canal and ear drum — had to have it surgically repaired
Kid comes into ER for cough for a couple weeks, parents are very worried and the kid looks “off”, so I order a chest xray. His mediastinum (the white part between the lungs) takes up almost the entirety of his chest. Massive tumor.
Kid with belly pain and vomiting for 12 hours. Belly exam is hard — not like she is flexing but like rigid as a board. Ultrasound for appendicitis shows a massive kidney tumor that went from right lung to bottom of the right pelvis. Wilms tumors are crazy!
Most recently had a little one in for a regular check up that parents had kept postponing. Kid can’t sit up alone and parents still have to feed — not normal for a 9 month. Ultrasound of the head shows too much water in the brain and the kid gets surgery within 24 hours.
Report
13points
#17
Not a doctor, mom was the patient. She went in to get a regular check up, renew her prescriptions, etc. Mentioned that she had been having pain in one of her fingers. She had put off getting it checked cause she was thinking it was just arthritis. Doctor refers her to a hand doctor, turns out it's a tumor that's wrapped around her bone and tendon. She gets surgery to remove it tomorrow.
Report
13points
#18
Not a doctor but the Jon Dorenbos story is pretty incredible. Long story short, upon being traded to the Saints he had to undergo a physical (which he wouldn’t have needed to do if he had still been tenured with the Eagles) and it was discovered that he had a massive aortic aneurism and he immediately went in for open heart surgery.
Report
13points
Music and relaxation techniques are surprisingly effective. “Listening to your favorite playlist, practicing deep breathing, or even doing short meditation exercises in the waiting room can help calm your mind,” she explains. These small tools give patients a sense of control and reduce the overwhelming feeling of being at someone else’s mercy.
#19
The reason there aren't a lot of responses from doctors is probably because when we see our patients, the thought process is never "This person is here for a small problem". We are constantly thinking "What is the worst possible thing this person could have right now? How do I make sure these things are not happening?", so when we discover something serious it was already something we were worried about and trying to rule out. I try to think of every problem as a big problem until I'm absolutely sure it's not.
Anywho my contribution to the thread: I saw an elderly lady for a 'sore toe', and when i asked her to take off her shoes both of her feet were cold, purple, and pulseless from a loss of blood supply. Cue urgent CT and vascular surgery consult. She saw me in a walk-in clinic so I'm not sure how she did but the surgeon I spoke to did think they would be able to save her feet.
Anywho my contribution to the thread: I saw an elderly lady for a 'sore toe', and when i asked her to take off her shoes both of her feet were cold, purple, and pulseless from a loss of blood supply. Cue urgent CT and vascular surgery consult. She saw me in a walk-in clinic so I'm not sure how she did but the surgeon I spoke to did think they would be able to save her feet.
Report
13points
#20
Not a doctor, daughter of a patient. For years my dad complained of gut pain. He went from doctor to doctor and they all said "oh it's just a stomach ache" or even "It's all in your head." Dad went to one doctor that took him seriously and did a scan. Turns out his gall bladder had died.
Report
12points