Have doctors ever sent you on a wild goose chase?

At least once a week while working as a nurse in hospitals.

They have tried.

All the time. Doctors suck.

I feel like this happens every time I go to a doctor. Somehow I end up seeing several other doctors and I end up on a hamster wheel of appointments and tests (and bills) and never end up getting anywhere. I have spent the last couple of years in this perpetual state of waiting for doctor’s appointments and I feel like next to nothing has been resolved. Very frustrating.

Not all doctors suck, I swear. I know several awesome docs (cough, @Rarebear, cough) and am lucky enough to have a great one, myself! But…if it’s anything out of the ordinary, I do feel like I’m going to lots of specialists and getting lots of tests, and never getting much of an answer. :(

I went through a 10 year wild goose chase from one doctor to another, across 4 states, until last year. I felt something was wrong, but couldn’t get answers. Last year, I got a new insurance plan, and with that, I got a new doctor who ordered a full-spectrum blood test and diagnosed me with severe anemia. My iron levels were so low, just a notch above life-threatening.

That was treated, and wow… a heavy fog lifted from my head. Doctors have a very limited range of what they know, or what they remember from medical school. It’s unfortunately a hit and miss to get the right diagnosis and treatment for many conditions.

@linguaphile: Wow! None of the other doctors tested your iron level when they did blood work?

@jca No, they only tested my A1C, cholesterol, and thyroid. I would think Iron levels would be automatically checked, but not in my case.