Written By: Gina
In the past three months, I’ve had two occasions where I’ve received the wrong diagnosis through our Urgent Care facility. This is concerning for obvious reasons but also because the after-effects of these missed diagnosis’ could have been avoided.
Wrong Diagnosis #1: Two months ago, my daughter was complaining of a very sore throat, so much so that she could not sleep or get comfortable. She could not eat because it hurt to swallow. She also had a fever that spiked to 104 degrees two nights in a row. On the first night, I called the doctor on duty through my regular doctor’s office and was told that Strep Throat was going around and to monitor her temperature by alternating between Tylenol and Motrin every four hours. Even in doing so, my daughter tossed and turned all night from the sore throat pain. The next morning she seemed to be better and her fever was gone, but I kept her home from Bible School because I didn’t want her to get another child sick. I thought she was on the mend, but then again by dinner time she was beside herself in pain. I know I’m not a doctor, but I am with my kids all day every day so I know when something just isn’t right. Of course, this happened on a Friday night after my regular doctor’s office had closed, so off to Urgent Care I went with two kids in tow. I explained the symptoms to the doctor, and he told me my daughter had a cold. A cold!
I explained the throat discomfort she was having and told him that the doctor on call the night before suggested Strep Throat was going around and asked if he could take a throat culture. The simple fact that I had to ask was frustrating enough, but he agreed with a slight smile on his face as if to say, “Okay Mrs. Know-it-all. I will do the culture but just to prove you wrong.” Which he did- the test was negative. However, he had looked in my daughter’s throat and viewed the redness and swelling and still insisted she had a cold. That was the second night my daughter’s temperature rose to over 104 degrees. She was miserable. The next day was a Saturday, so we were forced to go back to Urgent Care but fortunately this time, there was a Pediatrician on staff. Within two second of looking at my daughter’s throat, he diagnosed her with Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease. It took 3 days and three different doctor’s to diagnose the problem. Hand, foot, Mouth Disease is incredibly contagious so it’s a good thing I kept my daughter out of Bible School which is where I assume she got this in the first place. All I could think was, “Were there other kids that went to the same Urgent Care over the course of that week and were given a wrong diagnosis only to return and spread the disease to over 900 kids attending the Bible School?” In the meantime, my son of course wound up getting the illness as well. Had we known Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease was the problem, we would have worked harder to keep him quarantined, including keeping him home from Bible School as well. At least by the time my son got the disease, we knew what we were dealing with. And interestingly enough, the magic solution- the thing that made both of them comfortable and took away the pain, was a holistic throat spray my dad happens to have and use all the time. Once the fevers were gone, it worked better than the Tylenol & Motrin.
Wrong Diagnosis #2: I dropped a heavy music mixer on the top of my foot while cleaning my son’s room and could barely walk from the pain. Of course, again, this happened on a Friday night (yes I have thrilling weekends!) so I had to go to Urgent Care to have it x-rayed. The x-ray did not show a fracture or so I was told, so the resident doctor gave me an ace wrap and sent me on my way. Fast-forward to three weeks later and I still cannot walk. So I called my regular doctor’s office this time, had my foot re-x-rayed and found out my foot does, in fact, have a hairline fracture. Deep down, I knew my foot had to be broken. I was limping and unable to stand fully upright and it would take upwards of 15 minutes every morning to get out of bed and gather the strength to get moving because I knew I would be in pain.
All that wasted time is very valuable to me. No one wants to go back to the doctor’s office over and over again. With what most of us pay for insurance coverage, we would expect to be diagnosed correctly the first time! Any of you that have read older blogs know that my daughter was also once wrongly diagnosed with Alopecia when she in fact, had Hypogammaglobulinemia which is an Immune Disorder. The treatment medications for Alopecia are steroids which if had been given to her, would have further destroyed the little immunity she had.
I have made it standard practice to do research and ask a lot of questions regarding what is going on with me and my children medically. I know I’m a pain in the neck to the medical community but if I weren’t, I would have had a lot more inconveniences and problems than I’ve already had by taking medications I didn’t need for diseases I didn’t have. If I had accepted my daughter’s diagnosis of a cold, I would not have been able to call my sister and warn her about infection as her kids had been around mine all week at Bible School. If I had accepted the wrong diagnosis regarding my foot, I would still be walking around in pain on a broken foot. If I had accepted the wrong diagnosis of Alopecia for my daughter…..well, I don’t even want to think about that. The point is, I have been let down more than once by people who should know better or want to try harder. I do not want to disrespect or second guess every medical professional I come in contact with- I actually have a degree in Health Education because I believe in it so much! And I have the utmost respect for doctor’s and all that they do. I would assume most choose the profession to help people and to help cure illnesses. But I personally have come to find that I need to trust my gut and get involved. How many times have you heard the expression, “A Mother’s Intuition?” There’s merit to that. You should be your own medical advocate. Ask questions, seek answers. It’s your body & your health and the more you know, the easier it can be to make good decisions.
Everyone has the right- and I believe the responsibility, to know their health and question the things they don’t agree with. Trust your intuition and don’t be intimidated into accepting everything you are told. Part of the problem is that we are rushed through 10 minute doctor’s appointments..how can anyone properly convey the symptoms they are feeling to get the correct diagnosis? Write things down, keep notes, make a chart, educate yourself- these are all things you can do and use to clearly and accurately communicate signs and symptoms to your doctor. A little education goes a long way and can give you the confidence to ask your medical professional intelligent questions about your future health and wellness.
Gina
In the past three months, I’ve had two occasions where I’ve received the wrong diagnosis through our Urgent Care facility. This is concerning for obvious reasons but also because the after-effects of these missed diagnosis’ could have been avoided.
Wrong Diagnosis #1: Two months ago, my daughter was complaining of a very sore throat, so much so that she could not sleep or get comfortable. She could not eat because it hurt to swallow. She also had a fever that spiked to 104 degrees two nights in a row. On the first night, I called the doctor on duty through my regular doctor’s office and was told that Strep Throat was going around and to monitor her temperature by alternating between Tylenol and Motrin every four hours. Even in doing so, my daughter tossed and turned all night from the sore throat pain. The next morning she seemed to be better and her fever was gone, but I kept her home from Bible School because I didn’t want her to get another child sick. I thought she was on the mend, but then again by dinner time she was beside herself in pain. I know I’m not a doctor, but I am with my kids all day every day so I know when something just isn’t right. Of course, this happened on a Friday night after my regular doctor’s office had closed, so off to Urgent Care I went with two kids in tow. I explained the symptoms to the doctor, and he told me my daughter had a cold. A cold!
I explained the throat discomfort she was having and told him that the doctor on call the night before suggested Strep Throat was going around and asked if he could take a throat culture. The simple fact that I had to ask was frustrating enough, but he agreed with a slight smile on his face as if to say, “Okay Mrs. Know-it-all. I will do the culture but just to prove you wrong.” Which he did- the test was negative. However, he had looked in my daughter’s throat and viewed the redness and swelling and still insisted she had a cold. That was the second night my daughter’s temperature rose to over 104 degrees. She was miserable. The next day was a Saturday, so we were forced to go back to Urgent Care but fortunately this time, there was a Pediatrician on staff. Within two second of looking at my daughter’s throat, he diagnosed her with Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease. It took 3 days and three different doctor’s to diagnose the problem. Hand, foot, Mouth Disease is incredibly contagious so it’s a good thing I kept my daughter out of Bible School which is where I assume she got this in the first place. All I could think was, “Were there other kids that went to the same Urgent Care over the course of that week and were given a wrong diagnosis only to return and spread the disease to over 900 kids attending the Bible School?” In the meantime, my son of course wound up getting the illness as well. Had we known Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease was the problem, we would have worked harder to keep him quarantined, including keeping him home from Bible School as well. At least by the time my son got the disease, we knew what we were dealing with. And interestingly enough, the magic solution- the thing that made both of them comfortable and took away the pain, was a holistic throat spray my dad happens to have and use all the time. Once the fevers were gone, it worked better than the Tylenol & Motrin.
Wrong Diagnosis #2: I dropped a heavy music mixer on the top of my foot while cleaning my son’s room and could barely walk from the pain. Of course, again, this happened on a Friday night (yes I have thrilling weekends!) so I had to go to Urgent Care to have it x-rayed. The x-ray did not show a fracture or so I was told, so the resident doctor gave me an ace wrap and sent me on my way. Fast-forward to three weeks later and I still cannot walk. So I called my regular doctor’s office this time, had my foot re-x-rayed and found out my foot does, in fact, have a hairline fracture. Deep down, I knew my foot had to be broken. I was limping and unable to stand fully upright and it would take upwards of 15 minutes every morning to get out of bed and gather the strength to get moving because I knew I would be in pain.
All that wasted time is very valuable to me. No one wants to go back to the doctor’s office over and over again. With what most of us pay for insurance coverage, we would expect to be diagnosed correctly the first time! Any of you that have read older blogs know that my daughter was also once wrongly diagnosed with Alopecia when she in fact, had Hypogammaglobulinemia which is an Immune Disorder. The treatment medications for Alopecia are steroids which if had been given to her, would have further destroyed the little immunity she had.
I have made it standard practice to do research and ask a lot of questions regarding what is going on with me and my children medically. I know I’m a pain in the neck to the medical community but if I weren’t, I would have had a lot more inconveniences and problems than I’ve already had by taking medications I didn’t need for diseases I didn’t have. If I had accepted my daughter’s diagnosis of a cold, I would not have been able to call my sister and warn her about infection as her kids had been around mine all week at Bible School. If I had accepted the wrong diagnosis regarding my foot, I would still be walking around in pain on a broken foot. If I had accepted the wrong diagnosis of Alopecia for my daughter…..well, I don’t even want to think about that. The point is, I have been let down more than once by people who should know better or want to try harder. I do not want to disrespect or second guess every medical professional I come in contact with- I actually have a degree in Health Education because I believe in it so much! And I have the utmost respect for doctor’s and all that they do. I would assume most choose the profession to help people and to help cure illnesses. But I personally have come to find that I need to trust my gut and get involved. How many times have you heard the expression, “A Mother’s Intuition?” There’s merit to that. You should be your own medical advocate. Ask questions, seek answers. It’s your body & your health and the more you know, the easier it can be to make good decisions.
Everyone has the right- and I believe the responsibility, to know their health and question the things they don’t agree with. Trust your intuition and don’t be intimidated into accepting everything you are told. Part of the problem is that we are rushed through 10 minute doctor’s appointments..how can anyone properly convey the symptoms they are feeling to get the correct diagnosis? Write things down, keep notes, make a chart, educate yourself- these are all things you can do and use to clearly and accurately communicate signs and symptoms to your doctor. A little education goes a long way and can give you the confidence to ask your medical professional intelligent questions about your future health and wellness.
Gina
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