Today, I went to the doctor for the second time, because I've had a cough for about six weeks. In my first appointment, the nurse said it was just allergies and condescendingly gave me a brochure with a recipe for salt water. Turns out it's pneumonia. FML
Collection
Halloween
A failed costume, stolen candy and a very real scare: Halloween, the one night when fear is allowed.
Today, I went to the doctor after being sick for weeks. I found out that I had bronchitis that then progressed to pneumonia. My girlfriend is hearing impaired, and when I can finally get words to come out when I speak, she can't understand them. I'm not sure who I feel more sorry for. FML
Today, after nearly a week of awful pain in my right lung, I finally went to see a doctor about it. When I mentioned my history of lung problems and suggested it could be pneumonia, he told me to "leave the diagnosing to the professionals" and ended up claiming I have acid reflux. FML
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, I got fed up with my neighbor who has been coughing, night and day, for six months. I rang at her door to tell her about several remedies I know of to help, so I could sleep. I thus found out she has lung cancer. FML
Today, I learned that I have a sinus infection, ear infection and bronchitis so bad it was on the verge of pneumonia. My work won't let me call in sick. I work with kids. Lovely. FML
Today, after blacking out from fever, I found out that the reason I've been feeling so sick is that I've somehow come down with pneumonia, strep, and the common cold all at the same time. FML
Today, I went to the doctor to see why my walking pneumonia wasn't getting any better. It had. I've just somehow managed to also contract mono... while sitting home, alone. FML
Today, after years of having seasonal allergies and months of having my throat close up, my mom agreed to see a doctor, only to insult me in front of the doctor, saying I just find new ways to make their lives harder and I'm probably making it all up. FML
Today, it's been several weeks, I went to the doctor for an ear infection and I still don't feel too good. It was then that I realized the doctor forgot to prescribe me medication for said infection. That explains a few things. FML
Today, I fractured two ribs from coughing. My doctor told me to stop coughing, or I would fracture them more. I have bronchitis. FML
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Top comments
Basically_ 6
Did she not listen to your lungs at your last appointment? lung sounds are definitely useful clues.
klutz44 28
I had the exact same thing happen to me!! I sat there, hacking up a lung with a 102 fever while they told me it was "just allergies". Yep, pneumonia. That was 5 years ago and it still makes me so mad!
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Comments (107)
PoisonKangaroo 5
That sucks, get well soon OP!
liv1222 29
Ouch. That's harsh. Maybe that nurse should go through medical school again. Also get well soon Op!
LibertyLife20 20
Nurses don't diagnose, therefore, it wasn't the nurses fault
DoomedGemini 38
Didn't she try to diagnose op with allergies? I'd say that's her fault
liv1222 29
Yes. I meant if she was the one to diagnose then she was wrong, that's the doctors job.
LibertyLife20 20
Nurses provide education regarding what the doctor diagnosed.
dafluckster 6
Nurses don't go to medical school...
gunnerysgt 15
Nurses don't attend medical school, all they need is an associate degree and residency time (the duration of which I don't know). It's also not their job to diagnose and I would've asked for the doctor to come in and give a second opinion
LibertyLife20 20
Depends. If you are licensed nurse you do two years. If you are a registered nurse you do 4 years
sweetbliss3 37
the nurse said it was allergies- that's diagnosing. wrongly diagnosing can cost a life. had the doctor said OP had pneumonia and the nurse gave info on that, that would be different.
Patriots21 14
Nurses absolutely should not be diagnosing. They are not educuated to build differential diagnostic lists. That is nothing against them, physicians are trained extensively on this skill and it is not easily ascertained. Nurses often speculate with their physicians about what they think is going on, but physicians still enter the patients room with an open mind. In this case, there are details missing. Pneumonia is not a difficult case to diagnose. So that makes me think the physician didn't even enter the room, in which case it is entirely the physicians responsibility.
DoomedGemini 38
You just said based on doctors diagnosis. Don't get me wrong, I know nurses are necessary and are trained a lot, but everyone has even said based on doctors diagnosis. How the FML is written, the doctor DIDNT give the diagnosis, the nurse did.
sylvienoir 18
Could have been a nurse practitioner. Also, you can be an RN with an associates.
Poglia 15
I'm a nurse and in my country we study and train pretty much like doctors. To become a nurse you have to go to University for 3 years and study about 80 subjects, including anatomy, phisiology, biology, surgery, pharmacology, cardiology, neurology, gastroenterology, and even psychology, ethic and medical law. Nursing school is full time, with classes from 9 am to 6 pm every day. All classes are mandatory and you can't skip them or attend them online. There is also a mandatory clinical training in hospitals, 3 months per year, 8 hour per day where you work for free. Doctors do the same thing, but split over 6 years instead of 3 because they only have classes in the morning (4 hours per day). It's the same amount of work, but not compressed like in Nursing school. And yeah, most of us are able to diagnose diseases on our own, even though we are not actually supposed to do that. That nurse is probably from the US, where you only study a basic subjects for a couple of years without much of a training.
Redgy22 26
Nurse practitioners do diagnose & treat. All without the pt. ever seeing a doctor. I went to a doctor (only because my NP was out of the country) twice over 4 weeks with a lingering cough & congestion only to be told it was just a cold. My nurse practitioner diagnosed me 2 days later with pneumonia, bronchitis, & 4 cracked ribs! Everyone makes mistakes, but it still sucks. Thankfully it wasn't life threatening OP.
abn110 9
Feel better op ;) and make sure to sue the hospital :)
abn110 9
I was just kidding... Damn so much down votes and hate.
oiler 21
Yea totally sue them for the crucial life or death situation.
thebeast2349 6
Dang that sucks OP! I usually search up my symptoms and do some prior research before going to the doctor. Hope you feel better!
littlekellilee 45
How often do you find yourself searching up the idea that you have something fatal when you actual just have a flu?
XxDanno316xX 27
People like her should retire from the health care industry. negligence like that can get people killed. Fyl op
LibertyLife20 20
Misdiagnosis happens. Nurses don't diagnosis, it's the physicians responsibility.
Anony2014 10
Nurses aren't supposed to diagnose, but if you read OP's submission again, the nurse decided it wasn't that serious. They just sent OP home (or TRIED to send OP home) with a brochure.
Siehnados 17
I agree. My grandfather went to the doctors for dizziness and an Ill feeling. The doc said he had vertigo and would have to live with it. Turns out he had cancer and by the time he was diagnosed it was too late to do anything.
RnLaLa 6
OP said they had the cough for 6 weeks. If they went to the doctor the first time in the beginning, their symptoms could have been milder than when they went weeks later. While doctors do the diagnosing the nurse had no right to be condescending.
blartheboss 5
You probably should've gone in earlier, but at least you still got it looked at. FYL.
higgysaurus 18
OP said this was their second appointment in 6 weeks, meaning they could have only been coughing for a week and a half before scheduling an appointment.
leogachi 15
@67 "...because I've had a cough for about six weeks." It says that it's their second appointment for a cough they've had for six weeks.
cutycat136 28
They can be wrong sometimes and it may be best to get a second opinion if it is something like that, that you were worried about, just to be on the safe side next time
illuminatzi 19
A doctor once told my friend she had a tumor. It was strep throat.
klutz44 28
I had the exact same thing happen to me!! I sat there, hacking up a lung with a 102 fever while they told me it was "just allergies". Yep, pneumonia. That was 5 years ago and it still makes me so mad!
i_wuz_nver_here 31
Pneumonia develops over time, what starts out as a cold can worsen into pneumonia (fluid in the lungs) but there is no specific germ or cause of the condition. OP could've had a regular cold that progressed instead of being fought off.
kodman101 11
In most cases the cold is only lowering you immune systems ability to fight off infection. Allowing microbes to infect the lungs and cause pneumonia. So while there are multiple causal agents, there are some common ones the doctor could have tested for.
Basically_ 6
Did she not listen to your lungs at your last appointment? lung sounds are definitely useful clues.
Seashells77 25
No kidding, I was thinking the same thing.
LibertyLife20 20
It is possible for lung sounds to be clear and then later change.
militarybrat 21
With my newborn she had clear lungs. That night she had full blown rsv with 77% oxygen. It happens.