Today, I went to the doctor's after over a week of feeling extremely tired and having headaches. His advice? "When I'm tired I drink coffee. You should drink coffee." Somehow, I don't think that was worth $60. FML
Collection
Fall
Dead leaves, the first cold of the season and an umbrella flipped inside out: fall, the season of grace.
Today, after suffering with anxiety and insomnia for a nearly a year and exhausting every natural remedy I could think of, I finally went to go to a doctor for help. Instead of writing me a prescription, he told me to drink more tea and think happy thoughts. I had to pay out of pocket for this. FML
Today, I got up early for a doctor's appointment and chugged two cups of coffee. Ten minutes before I was supposed to leave, my doctor calls asking to reschedule, which would have been fine had I not cleared my whole day for this appointment. Now I'm too wired to go back to bed. FML
Today, I was at work and got chest pains and a headache so bad, I vomited. My supervisor took my blood pressure twice and it was dangerously high both times. I went to the hospital, and after 3 hours of waiting, I got the most expensive lecture ever on drinking too many energy drinks. FML
Today, after being sick and not having coffee for a month, my body has invented a new way of processing caffeine: The tiredness and lethargy remains untouched, while the caffeine-jolt is converted directly into a fuzzy headache. FML
Today, I went to my doctor to discuss my chronic insomnia. After I'd spent ten minutes describing how exhausted I am and how it’s affecting my life, he looked me dead in the eye and said, "Have you tried just closing your eyes and clearing your mind?" I paid a $50 copay to be told how to blink. FML
Today, my boyfriend had an appointment he had to wait months for, after he finally agreed to try to figure out what's making him so tired all the time. He slept through it. FML
Today, I visited my new doctor for the migraines I've been getting lately. Right from the start, I could have sworn the guy was on drugs. He just listened to my heartbeat, said, "Well Dave, it sounds like gallstones" and said they'll pass naturally. FML
Today, I visited my new doctor, hoping that he would be able to figure out the cause of the pains I've been having for years. He told me there's nothing he can do, that half the drugs out there cause cancer anyway and that I should look into homeopathy. Great. FML
Today, I went to see a doctor about some of the memory problems I've been having. After the appointment, I could barely remember a thing he told me. FML
Today, I realised just how caffeine dependent I am. I didn't have time for my morning coffee, work is out of milk, and I only have $1.30 in my bank account, so I couldn't buy a coffee. Today has been a struggle. FML
Feel like sharing it with the other FML users?
Thanks, your FML was submitted, and will appear in the moderation queue soon!
Top comments
luther48 20
Coffee actually will help cure both. Caffeine is used to help both being tired and headaches.
cutycat136 28
Yes, but doesn't coffee help you keep yourself awake? If you're feeling tired and he is in fact a doctor as he claims (which it doesn't seem like he is) shouldn't he have told you to get more sleep or maybe prescribe something to help you sleep
Add a comment · Reply to
You must be logged in to be able to post comments!
Comments (61)
luther48 20
Coffee actually will help cure both. Caffeine is used to help both being tired and headaches.
Gaernem 17
It can. But it can also have the opposite effect. I drink coffee at night to get tired, caffeine never gives me energy for some reason.
Dale_shackleford 13
Also so many people have caffeine addictions that when they say they cute their headaches, they actually mean that their withdrawal effects are going away.
bellydancer82 15
That's true, but OP's doctor should have at least asked a few more questions. Being extremely tired and having headaches could be a number of medical problems like anemia, hypothyroidism, even depression. Not saying that's OP's problem or that I know how good/bad the situation is, but it's possible.
guii_fml 24
That is a misconception caffeine is the main ingredient because its to accelerate the medicine through your body its not used to cure you
PrincessZelda_HR 22
What's a misconception; that caffeine helps with headaches? Then why is it one of the main ingredients in Excedrin (which I take for migraines) I wonder.
ChristianH39 30
I work full time at a café, drink 5-6 cups of coffee a day almost every day, and this STILL seems like terrible advice to me.
andrewduncan 16
You could've spent the $60 on coffee??? Damn waste
MikaykayUnicorn 36
If anyone spends 60$ on coffee (I know I'm gonna get shit for putting the $ behind the money amount but shut the **** up, you don't say "dollar sixty" you say "sixty dollars" so I prefer to put the sign behind the number) they need to get a mental health check done.
MrGodface 21
#41 I think you only got shit for it because you pointed it out. Sometimes people only want explanations after the question has been asked, not before.
lolmyfduplife 7
Comment moderated for rule-breaking.
Sorry your doctor isn't good OP. Try some aspirin and lay down for a little while. I'm sure you'll feel better.
Tripartita 45
I'm sorry 10's advice wasn't good either, OP. Just try not to think about it, and you'll get better eventually. Wait…
cutycat136 28
Yes, but doesn't coffee help you keep yourself awake? If you're feeling tired and he is in fact a doctor as he claims (which it doesn't seem like he is) shouldn't he have told you to get more sleep or maybe prescribe something to help you sleep
teentee401 37
Yeah, that's the FML...
iSativa 24
Meds that put you to sleep have the same effect as drugs such as alcohol for a night cap. It's not REM sleep so it's not healthy sleep so it won't actually help you. You'll still be tired and you'll still have headaches.
InfiniteSunshine 32
That is not true and misinformation. It depends on the kind of sleeping medication, and some are better than others. Whether it suppresses and affects REM sleep is often greatly reliant on the dosage as well. Also, some of them have a side effect of headaches caused from the drug itself, not from the drug not giving you proper sleep. No one should take sleeping medication for an extended amount of time, that is true, but that is because it can effect your ability to sleep naturally, since you're relying on a drug all the time. It's sort of like how caffeine or alcohol works as well, if you're always using it to cope, your body is going to feel like it needs it to function properly. Sleeping medication is usually meant to get your body back on a normal cycle because sometimes your natural sleep can get thrown off for some reason and needs help to correct it.
Feklfekl2222 32
Sleeping medication should really be a last resort because of those associated risks. Your first step should be having a look at your sleep hygiene, is your bedroom used for more than sleep and sex? Do you go on your phone directly before bed, or whilst in your bed? In regards to the headaches, drink more water. It's an obvious piece of advice but it's commonly ignored
allforfun 23
I have to chime in here. I feel like I have some real world experience here both as someone who has trouble sleeping and as a medical professional. There's a lot of misinformation here and I'm not going to break it all down. Don't take medical advice on FML, find another doc if you don't like yours.
booze_n_bitches 37
Excellent conservative advice. I'd much rather be told to have a delicious cup of coffee every day, and it solve my problems, than a daily/life-long tablet with all its side effects. I'm glad your doctor didn't take the easy route and get rid of you with a prescription.
zach205 24
It sounds more like the coffee was to get rid of him, rather than find out what the root of the problem is. Plus advice like that is not worth $60.
Dale_shackleford 13
What if OP doesn't like coffee? Most people that say that it cures their problems are are addicted to caffeine and suffer from withdrawal.
tabbycat2007 22
He should have at least run a blood or urine test to check OP's vitamin levels. When I visited my doctor because I was always feeling tired, my test came back showing low levels Vitamin B12. So my "prescription" was to go the store and start a vitamin. Had he told me to just drink coffee, it wouldn't have solved my problem. So maybe the doctor should do a bit more than just telling OP to drink more coffee.
InfiniteSunshine 32
As someone with a sleep disorder, I feel your pain. Regular doctors often just don't help a lot when the issue is sleep related. The advice your doctor gave you is terrible. Coffee is a stimulant that can wake you up, yes, but it causes you to crash and fall harder later. Also, your body can become addicted and reliant on it, so you need to have it everyday or you'll be even more exhausted and it'll be harder to function without it. Maybe go see another doctor who will actually give you real advice and care, if the sleep and tiredness is that bad, maybe even look into a specialist.
kttnfsh 11
Try increasing your water and vitamin D intake.
ssnow_fml 20
That's some great advice there doc.
TabooSushi 24
Is there another doctor you can go to? That one sounds like a quack.
Ben14h 22
Make sure you drink enough water, take a water bottle to work with you or something. Helped me when I used to have a lot of headaches