Today, I went to the doctor's for the third time in a week for a huge growth under my jaw. I have seen an urgent care doctor, an emergency room doctor and an ear, nose and throat specialist who all gave me different diagnoses. I've so far spent $300. FML
Collection
Fall
Dead leaves, the first cold of the season and an umbrella flipped inside out: fall, the season of grace.
Today, I'd finally had enough of feeling awful and went to urgent care. As it turns out, the reason my throat was sore was because I have a sinus infection. The doctor explained my nose is producing pus, and that's what I'm swallowing and coughing up. Yuck. I also have pink eye on top of that. FML
Today, my dentist called and told me that the surgery to remove my wisdom teeth - which I desperately need and saved for a year to be able to afford - will actually cost nearly $2000 more than originally stated. The surgery is supposed to be in three days. FML
Today, I rushed to urgent care after suddenly developing a dark spot in the vision of one of my eyes. Long story short, I paid $110 for the doctor to remove an eyelash. FML
Today, it was the fourth time I've had major dental work done, because my dentist messed up my root canal. After almost a dozen needles, three missed work days, over $1,000, and 2 broken tools, I only have a tiny, barely-successful filling to show for it. FML
Today, after three months of wait, I expected to have a diagnosis and treatment plan from my doctor. Instead, I got an appointment with a surgeon "just to be sure", and an appointment with a GP to get referrals to two other doctors for more appointments. Meanwhile, my health gets worse and worse. FML
Today, I finally got insurance after months of paperwork, and so I went to the doctor. I was billed $873 for a "consultation" that pretty much consisted of being weighed and told to "Google it." FML
Today, and for the past 2 weeks, I've had a massive pain in my throat. It went down for a while with antibiotics, but when it came back I had to go to the hospital for an emergency surgery. There was a 3 cm abscess growing in my throat. Happy birthday to me! FML
Today, the gums around my wisdom teeth are so badly swollen that I can't talk. I called a dentist to find out if I could see them for a removal. They told me to contact a surgeon, or go to the hospital emergency room. I have no insurance. FML
Today, I woke up to the most excruciating pain in my jaw. No dentist that takes my insurance has any openings, and the one doctor I can see to get antibiotics isn’t in. FML
Today, after two root canal procedures done on the same tooth in last two years, the tooth had been acting up for a few days, so I went in to get it checked. Turns out, it got infected AGAIN and I gotta get a THIRD root canal done on the same tooth. FML
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Top comments
doggone456 0
hey your better safe than sorry, money can be replaced and gotten back, a person can't, u might wanna get a PET scan on it to see if it's cancerous or benine
ktbird 0
It seem obvious to me that you should trust the third doctor (the expert). ER and urgent doctors are adept at all medicine but only experts at emergencies like trauma.
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Comments (112)
lilbit4life 0
sucks for you
kiakia0131 23
I know your frustration OP. I have been feeling like crap for nearly 5 months now. No doctor seems to know what is wrong with me. I have thyroid nodules (one a huge lump!) but they still don't know what caused them or what is making me feel sick. I too have nearly $300 in medical bills I have to pay off. They seem to just brush everything off. Maybe we are both just crazy OP.
DocBastard 40
Hm...my comment #54 vanished.
BelleBelle_fml 11
You might want to look up lymphadenopathy.
sweetcheeksjvl 0
You know what I've noticed we have to be our own freaking doctor.For example,let's say you go to 4 different doctors to get 1 diagnosis.In most cases especially those that are in diar need of medical help,literally get no solid diagnosis of what they have and doctors assume otherwise,and never bother to find out what's truly wrong with their patient.So the patient has to do their own research and move on from it.Waiting waiting and waiting just wasting money or soca leeching off the insurance.I say keep trying OP and don't give up,sadly if you have to google your symptoms and bring them to your next doctor for help,then do it.Well good luck OP.
TheIrishJaneDoe 9
91: Being your own advocate and learning how to be a good patient are imperatives for getting good healthcare, and IMO, that's a good thing. Docs are forced to spend limited time with each patient, and too many people put the responsibility for their own health entirely upon their doctor's shoulders. You're the one whose life is affected; you should consequently be as proactive as possible about your treatment and diagnosis. I've found that if you walk into an appointment prepared, with a list of written questions, a second person to help you remember and fully understand the answers, and as much knowledge as you can get beforehand about how the affected part of your body works, doctors will respect you more and take you more seriously. It's important to insist upon getting the correct medical terms for later research on your own, as well as an explanation of how any tests ordered will work, and why they're necessary. Note that I'm not talking about self-diagnosis, per se; walking into an appt. with an opinion formed by WebMD is kind of insulting. Even if you have a good reason to suspect a particular diagnosis, docs aren't going to put you in the "smart patient" category, but the "panicked and arrogant" category if you're already convinced you have something you read about online.
c420racer 13
Its because those doctors are idiots! Time to see Dr House
shughes183 4
sounds like goiter, an iodine deficiency.
DocBastard 40
Goiter is a wastebasket term for an enlarged thyroid, which is found in front of the trachea, not under the jaw. It isn't necessarily caused by iodine deficiency, although worldwide that is by far the most common cause.
ameliasaurus 0
branchial cleft cyst perhaps
RedPillSucks 33
Unfortunately, doctors aren't gods and can't always fix everything or don't always immediately know what the problem is. My wife's cousin had a long chronic illness that was never diagnosed. The doctors just kept removing parts of her until there was nothing left to remove. All they could suggest was to drink a lot of beer for calories, and smoke a lot of pot (this was 20yrs ago too) to increase her appetite and reduce nausea.
RachaelQ 0
$300 for all that? I think that's a typo. My doctor billed me $800 for a routine check-up. If you only paid $300, this isn't an FML at all! $3000 I would understand.
sarahpft 2
Dude. It's a lymph node. You probably have an infection or had an allergic reaction.