Woman Was Misdiagnosed By Doctors for 15 Years | Today

15 years. These doctors should be held to account. Legally. It’s reprehensible - SHE figured it out. Of course.

This is far too common. A person is not crazy just because YOU can’t figure out what’s wrong with them! Smh!

Of course the insurance company did not pay for it, as usual when we needed the most.

I worked in a Lyme clinic for years. Unfortunately her story is all too common. I'm so disgusted with doctors attitudes for being complete inept in treating sick people.

This is SO TRUE. My husband was taken seriously for his condition immediately. Me on the other hand, pain and symptoms growing for years. NOONE will draw a connection between them. They want to treat the separately.

Everything this woman said is unfortunately true. I'm an RN who was misdiagnosed for 16 years & almost lost my career because of it. The bias towards women is real. I've seen it on the other side as a nurse & because of my background I was properly diagnosed sooner. I was always treated respectfully & listened to until I gained 80 lbs. Women of size, lower socioeconomic class, & color are most definitely treated differently & that has got to change!

I can fully agree with her. You are not believed when you go in for pain. I had HORRIBLE abdominal pain for 8 years. Always centered in the same spot, and it would radiate around my back. I'd get nauseous, and dizzy (if it went on for a long time). No one would take me seriously! I am a pretty good sized woman. I would get told it was heart burn, gastritis, anxiety, and was told once that MAYBE it is an ulcer (that doctor was so rude too. He was so mean in how he spoke to me, he actually made me cry). I finally saw a woman who was a Nurse Practitioner. She actually LISTENED to me! She took me seriously and sent me in for a bunch of testing. She had a suspicion of what it was, and she was right. It was gall stones. I just had the pain in a different spot because I had an extra connection that no one else has, so mine wasn't draining properly. When I had it removed, I was told that mine was so infected that it fell apart as they were trying to remove it. I had to go on powerful antibiotics. Almost 2 years later, and I haven't gotten that pain since. I am SO happy about that! Vonda Dahms, you saved my life. Too bad that you moved to Milwaukee, but I hope you love it there.

I'm glad that she's finally getting the help that she needs.

I am so tried of Doctors being aloud to get away with causing harm by dismissing womens symptoms as in "our head" or as "attention seeking" I have had a friend that died due to this Doctors assumptions of "its in her head" . Definitely men are respected and believed and will receive treatment before a women does. 😢

Girl pls tell me you made copies of that paper and sent it to every dr that dismissed and ignored you. Pls tell me you rubbed it in their face lol

My mother had a mastectomy several years ago and was complaining of extreme pain. She was blown off completely until a portion of a severed nerve was found in the biopsy sample. Doctors today are mostly in the “business” for the money, unfortunately. I quit the health care field due to the disheartening amount of doctors I worked with rushing patients in and out without proper care. I even reported several to the FBI for healthcare fraud. The FBI did nothing and as far as I know the practices continue to fail patients.

Please be your own advocate when it comes to your health especially if you are female and a woman of color just as she said. The doctors don't take you serious when you complain of pain. Do some research and let them know your pain is real and not coming from your head. If he or she is not listening to you, change your doctor. Had similar experience , changed my doctor and am ok now. Peace , love and good health to all who read this.

This really really hits home. Ten years and several doctors for me. Watching her stop at the top of the stairs, hearing her talk about not being able to sit, hold the hair dryer (putting dishes in the cabinet was excruciating for me), the arthritis at a young age. Sifting through all the possible diagnosis lupus, RA, and fibro. Not giving up and fighting for a true diagnosis, her treatment. For the first time ever I don’t feel alone...

We lost my mother in law because she was ignored for over a decade and it turned out her “woman troubles” were colon cancer. Meanwhile, her husband always got interventions and tests immediately for milder symptoms. Absolutely unacceptable. It’s made me read up a lot more on health and wellness from credible sources because I feel I need to be ready when I seek routine or acute medical attention.

Inept medical establishment killed both of my parents. Sorry for your ordeal.

All med students need to see this!

Her husband is a great man! I love seeing stories where the partner has stood by their side through all of the pain and struggles instead of leaving like so many do which is so sad and pathetic.

My heart goes out to you! As a Doctor and Lyme sufferer, I know exactly what you are going through. Even as an MD, I got no understanding from the medical community and had to seek help from a few excellent naturopathic doctors who had an interest in Lyme and the empathy to understand what we who have the disease, are going through. I pray you recover completely!

I just got diagnosed with lyme disease today! After 9 years of searching for answers, having other diagnoses like depression, anxiety, attention seeking, hypochondriac, fibromyalgia, it was being a mother is tiring. I saw 2 GP, 3 Rheumatologists, 1 endocrinologist and 2 Psychiatrists. And they all assumed above. I finally demanded the test because I have been getting worse especially the last year.... and FINALLY! This, this explains it. I'm thankful I live in Canada so the test is covered under the provincial healthcare system, but not many have that privelage or even being white. The big picture is woman should be treated differently and believed!!!

This story resonates so much with me. I was I originally diagnosed with myasthenia gravis but after getting a PTSD diagnosis I was told it’s all psychological and taken off all meds. I’ve never been my old self. Now I finally had testing done that shows an ANA of 640 which got me a referral to a rheumatologist. Numbers can’t lie. I just want validation and not to be told “you’re too stressed just see a therapist.” I have a PhD in psychology and know my body. Something is wrong. Fingers crossed I get answers next week.