Right... give me as many stories as possible about doctors/consultants getting things wrong

[emkana]

Going through a difficult time atm with uncertainty about my unborn baby's health.

Even though it might be clutching at straws it would cheer me up to hear stories about how doctors can get things wrong. So please indulge me! Anything - pregnancy-related or not - welcome!

hmmm maybe i'll let him off on that one... but he was VERY creepy and weird

i was so shocked i didn't even say anything! went to see another doctor about an hour later who just rpescribed me ab's!

Ah GDG...your poor little fella
How is he now??

Fine now thanks SL - totally back to normal!

Oh MD I mean - sorry!! Haha!

emkana, I had numerous scans with dd. Doctors said possible chromosomal defect (CVS eliminated that), intrauterine growth restriction (due to being small for dates), unknown genetic defect (because of the cluster of structural anomalies with her brain, heart defects, single umbilical cord combined with her small size). They were WRONG. The only thing they were right on was the heart defect, which was eminently fixable. Dd was 5+ lbs at birth, but I am small as well. Otherwise, just a lot of worry and a very emotionally stressful pregnancy.

Hope it goes well for you.

I had ds at a very well-thought-of maternity hospital, and problems kept being thrown up during pg. Finally one of the consultants said that the problem was, there are so many tests now, they throw up all kinds of stuff, much of which never comes to anything. Before there were the tests, there would've been no concerns. Ds was fine, is fine, is a strapping 12 year old, no health probs.

My nan was told 6 months ago that she had in-operable cancer and there was nothing they could do other than to make her feel comfortable until the end came.

She consulted another doctor and is now at home, recovering well from surgery and has just been told that they got out all the cancer and she should be fine!!!

pregnant with ds1 i said he felt too big. consultant said i was being daft. i said what happens if he gets stuck she said he wont. he did. we both nearly died and he was left with lifelong physical disability (erbs Palsy) in addition to autism. I think that qualifies as doctor being wrong!

ds2 - took him to gp as he has not been well - no energy, weepy, dreamy etc - he's autistic too. she said he's in proportion and basically what do you expect he's autistic - dh argued with her and demanded tests - turns out he is VERY badly anemic and hes now on iron with referral on the way for further consult.

neighbours gp told her (paraphrasing here) go away nothing wrong with you. six weeks later -dead. cancer.

a few of many many many examples!!

DS2 was "small for dates" and was going to be induced early as not growing "right" - growth scans showed he was small, palpations showed he was small, was measuring 4 weeks small, etc, etc.

He was 8lb 1oz.

I know it's incomparable in magnitude of what you're going through, but it's another example.

Thinking of you x x x x

okay, with ds1 the scans regularly showed too much amniotic fluid, I was told he might be big, also had 'soft markers' for chromosomal abnormalities. Genetically he's fine, I was induced at 38 weeks but had a normal vaginal delivery and he was slap bang on the 50th percentile for 38 weeks gestation (3.02 kg)

He had convulsions on day 3 but I think this is unconnected with the above and more to do with lack of support breastfeeding (his blood glucose levels dropped really low). He was in NICU for about 5 days and during that time had a brain scan, the discharge notes said some really scary stuff including "changes suggestive of HIE" which implied he might have CP. Anyway, he's a perfectly normal, active nearly 4 year old at the moment so that's one success story.

My adopted sister had brain injury as a baby which led to hydrocephalus and a host of attached problems. When my parents first fostered her she lived in hospital and the doctors said she would never learn to crawl, let alone walk. Yes, she was severely brain damaged and my parents had an awful lot to deal with as I'm sure anyone on the SN board can agree, but after living with us she learned to crawl, walk, talk and even read a few words. She lived for 20 years and for most of that time was an extremely happy person - I don't think the doctors can really make accurate judgements about what a child's quality of life can be. Also, my life would have been completely different without her and despite the difficulties I am glad I had her around.

I've just been studying basic neurology and have read a case study of a woman who had hydrocephalus detected at 8 months old, and despite a shunt being fitted (the usual treatment for HC) was told that her brain mass was about 10% of normal. However as a 30something adult she had an IQ of 113 and three healthy children. Somehow her brain adapted to the situation and although some functions are affected she lives a normal life.

A slightly less relevant story - I was taken to A&E aged 10 with strong pains in my stomach area, first consultant said it was just a urinary infection and sent me back home again, when my parents took me back the next day I was admitted with peritonitis (inflammation of the membrane around the gut) and was in hospital for two weeks.

I can probably think of many more but the first ones are the most relevant, and I should get back to my bed or I'll be too grumpy with the kids tomorrow morning

"It could be your appendix" - not really mate, check out the scar it was removed 10 years ago.

"You've got your dates a month out" - oh that will be why I had a full term baby exactly when I said I would.

"It can't be your wisdom teeth - you don't have any." Five years later a wisdom tooth appears.

None of these compare to your situation - but still, hope it adds to the quantity if not the quality.

1 Consultant diagnosed major placenta previa, another said I didnt have it and I could go home from hospital, 4 days later haemoraged(sorry if not spelt right), ended up back in hospital.
Wouldnt let him near me again

i was told my unborn dd might have downs. she's 2 now, and highly intelligent, extremely clever and talented, and completely healthy and normal in every way!

oh and a friend's father died of colon cancer after the doctor said it was indigestion

oh yes, and at boarding school, once had a horrible allergic reaction to penicillin and dr said i had GERMAN MEASLES!!!!!
was miserable for days, (face swelled, horrible itchy rashes all over body, severe diarrhoea and was pooping liquid) and then doc gave me two more sets of pills (antibiotics). went back to docs and showed him that warnings on the two boxes stated clearly the two medicines MUST NOT be taken together!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! good ole mum had to fly down to save me..

so yes Doctors are stupid.

(er no offence to any doctor mumsnetters)

I was told that my baby would probably die before 26 weeks in-utero probably had chromosomal abnormalities and was also IUGR.

She arrived at 36 weeks, very skinny but 100% healthy. They got the IUGR right :). Hope all goes well for you.

On re-reading realise the :) next to IUGR looks a bit strange! I was just very relieved after all the doom and gloom during the pregnancy that she was just small for her dates and that they weren't right about the other things.

She now has totally caught up in both height and weight and is a very busy 2 year old!!

when ds2 was born the docs only gave him a few days to live
he is now 9.
he has sn and no dx,and love him to bits.

emkana hugs sweetie
xxx

pd with ds1 i had placenta preavia, had a scan 3 days before they indiced me at 37 weeks and was told the placenta had moved and everything was now ok, got induced and bled very very bad- you guessed it placenta hadnt even moved.

laboured with twins at 29 weeks, midwife at hospital said it was a urine infection i knoew different. as precaution i was t/f to specialised unit to deal with prems was there an hour and had emergency section as my womb was seperating some urine infection eh

dd had a heart duct which was supposed to close soon after birth but did not (PDA). Cardiologists said that if it did not close within 3 weeks after birth, it would probably never close on its own. It was still open 4 months later. Dd was booked for a procedure at 1 year old. She was admitted to hospital and prepped for the procedure. The hospital did a routine heart scan (echocardiogram) just before the procedure - guess what, it closed on its own! Cardiologists were gobsmacked!!

I don't trust most doctors any farther than I can throw them, which, seeing as how I can't pick a grown person up, isn't very far.

I've gotten a better diagnosis from people I've met who live on the street - mostly b/c they have more common sense.

IME, I've found the majority of consultants to be like glorified parrots, parping the same line over and over and can't be arsed to actually use whatever brain they have. Maybe it's not a bad thing, b/c if they had brains they'd probably be dangerous.

Just my 2p.

I was told I had asthma for 3 weeks whilst a severe chest infection was taking hold and I was coughing up green gunk

had ongoing argument with gps over primary baby vaccinations because I wanted DD to have DTaP (without thimerosal as a preservative because I didn't want her injected needlessly with mercury) .. they told me point-blank they couldn't get it, until I said it was in their fridge as its what they give to 3 year olds, they told me it was a different dosage, I said it isn't. They told me they weren't allowed to give it, I proved they were allowed to. They finally told me I could have it so long as I didn't tell anyone else... the day after DD's first vaccination the govt announced they would no longer give DTwP (the one with mercury) but that all children would have DTaP (well 5 in 1)

I made a point of pointing it out with great relish

I hope everything comes right for you emkhana

not really related but my mother aged seventy was an insulin dependent brittle diabetic on three injections a day..(had been for more than 30 years)

the new consulatnat decided she should come off insulin! and he sent her home (alone)

she nearly died (would have done if i hadn't managed to get the local baker to break into her house as i had spoken to her and she didn't answer my next phone call i was 200 miles away..she was in a coma)

her sugar levels were so high that they were unable to read them she spent months in hospital and i believe it precipitated her death

Twiglett - snap with DTaP - even down to the "we don't stock it" and "it's the wrong dose" lines! Worrying really that they don't know what's in their own fridge...

should have heard the stories they gave me about Prevenar! 'it's not licensed in this country'. it isn't? then why the hell are you giving it to 'at-risk' infants, are you telling me you're breaking the law?