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People Describe Their Worst Experiences At The Doctor's Office

Doctor using their smartphone
National Cancer Institute/Unsplash

Reddit user sydthakidd asked: 'What was your worst experience at a doctor's office?'

Let's face it. No one looks forward to a doctor's visit.

Anyone declaring otherwise is fibbing and needs to have their head checked–which should be no problem for them to clear their schedule for.


While some visits consulting a medical pro is beneficial for identifying an ailment or for seeking relief, the process can still be unnerving.

Curious to hear from the experiences of strangers online, Redditor sydthakidd asked:

"What was your worst experience at a doctor's office?"

When doctors don't know who or what they're treating, it's a major concern.

Unnecessary Scan

"I was getting a bone density scan for some odd reason, and the doc came in a while later and told me I had Osteoporosis. This was not why I was there in the first place and was completely surprised. I asked him if I could see the chart, and it was for a 70 year old woman. I was a 30 something man, and he had the wrong chart! Turns out I did not have any issues at all, well, bone density related…"

– Curleysound

Pumping Iron

"Oh god, this reminded me of the time I took iron pills daily for four months because LabCorp mixed my results with someone who had severe anemia."

"When I went back to be tested again, my iron levels were SO goddamn high it was almost bad."

– swanlakepirate423

Lethal Prescription

"I went to a clinic to see a doctor about a fever and body aches and informed him I was allergic to NSAIDs.. he said he'd give me something and it was not an NSAID."

"Went home, swallowed the pill, immediate allergic reaction starts.. rushed to the A&E of a hospital where they pumped me full of drugs to stop the allergic reaction.. and the doc there asked me why I took the NSAID."

"I think the A&E doc reported the clinic doctor because he was never seen again."

– bearyken

Bad Communication

"I had a similar thing at a hospital here. Told multiple nurses and staff that I was allergic to aspirin, basically everyone except the doctor. Doctor prescribed me Advil, and assuming he looked at my chart and having no idea that both are NSAIDs, took Advil. Came back to the hospital an hour later in anaphylaxis and difficulty breathing."

"25 years later, had a minor surgery at the same hospital and now they put a bright band around my wrist immediately, and the first thing any person I interacted with asked is 'Do you have any allergies?' Annoying to be asked that 25 times in a 4 hour period, but nice to see that policy has changed to make sure that kind of thing doesn’t happen again."

– impossibilia

Unpleasant Emissions

"I had pinched my syatic nerve pushing carts at work. He accused me of having very kinky sex while my gf was in the room. I told him it was at work, and he assured me he would not judge me if it was from sex. He then gave me OxyContin and told me when ever I needed a refill I should call him and he’d make sure I had plenty. Very weird."

"The other is super mild but he kept farting. Like the whole time he’d fart every few minutes."

– Karsa69420

The last thing these Redditors expected was to endure more suffering after seeing their doctor.

Fix It, Don't Break It, Doc

"I thought I had a broken nose. The doc was showing me, on a heavy glass x-ray plate, that my nose was not broken. But as I was looking up, he dropped the plate on my nose and broke it."

– Wind2Energy

"'I, uh, guess you're here for a broken nose after all, huh?'- Dr probably."

– Chris_the_Otter

The Inappropriate Specialist

"Was 17, had an infected ingrown toe nail. My pediatrician tried cutting and digging it out with what looked like pliers and bracing his leg against the table. After f'king around for a bit he realized he wasn’t going to get it. No numbing gel or anything. Hurt like a mofo. Scheduled an appointment with a podiatrist, he numbed it, had it removed in about two minutes and told me to never see that dr. Again."

– Sam_i_am_68

More Embarrassment Than Pain

"Laid on my side with my back to the door for a prostate exam. Heard people walk by talking while a finger was in my butt and realized the door was open."

– survival-nut

"I want to move to another country on your behalf just from reading this."

– OddEpisode

If at first you don't succeed...

X Didn't Mark The Spot

"The ENT doctor removed a skin cancer from my nose, leaving an ugly scar. Turns out he excised the wrong area and I went to a different doctor to actually remove the cancer."

– DdraigGwyn

"Smug Bastard"

"Not me, but a close friend:"

"She was having debilitating migraines, to the point she couldn’t work or function. She waited nearly a month to see a neurologist. Upon a brief examination, he said:"

“You don’t have anything wrong with you. Just exercise and try not having headaches.”

"Three months later, he finally relented and did an MRI. She had massive lesions on her brain. She was diagnosed with MS. The smug bastard was somehow irritated she had a positive diagnosis. Her health wasn’t as important as his ego."

– wheresmychin

Second Doctor Saves The Day

"I had been sick for a while and had been gaining about 20 pounds a month. I had seen multiple doctors and they just told me I was just eating more than I thought which was ridiculous. I went to a doctor for a skin issue and the new doctor walked in the room and looked at me from across the room and said 'let’s get you to the emergency room' after about five seconds."

"I had end stage cirrhosis of the liver. That kind of sucked. I had a liver transplant 362 days ago and only in the last month have I started to feel like I am getting back to normal."

"Did you know you can get so sick your hair turns gray and then get better and the gray hair goes away? It’s weird honestly."

– blippityblue72

Hands-down the worst experience ever at a doctor's office was before I met with my actual doctor.

While I was waiting in a separate room waiting to go into the doctor's office, the phlebotomist came in to take some blood samples from me.

I have very prominent veins with the bluish hues making them even more visible. Yet, the phlebotomist managed to miss piercing through my veins.

Not once. Not twice. NOT THRICE.

She had to run out to get my primary care physician to jab the needle into me for my fifth–but thankfully his first–successful time.

It's a wonder how I managed to get back home in my highly woozy state.

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