35 Of The Most Disturbing Doctor’s Comments Patients Have Heard

People often say unnecessary things, but we don’t expect that from health professionals, especially when we’re seeking help for a medical concern. Still, plenty of doctors have put their foot in their mouth and made shockingly unprofessional remarks to patients that are quite unforgettable.

#1

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Had a CT scan and the tech caught on the very edge of my bladder a wierd spot. He shifted the machine and found a 14cm malignant tumor on my ovary. (14 cm is considered huge.) When he saw it I heard him breathe in and mutter ” Oh My”.

I instantly realized that something was bad. My doctor of 25 years had left a message to call him before I even made it home.

Shockingly, the cancer was almost all encapsulated, so I had surgery, 4 rounds of chemo and took cytoxin for a year. Im 15 years cancer free.

#2

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Not horrible but funny… regarding my husband’s very narrow gag reflex:

“I’m sorry. You’ll never make it as a gay man.”.

#3

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“You just need to work harder to lose that weight”

I had a grapefruit sized uterine tumor.

“The best thing for your joints is for you to lose weight”

I have RA.

Basically if you are a fat lady, be prepared to have any and all symptoms dismissed as a weight problem.

#4

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If I’d known you were going to be such a baby about it, I would have given you something for the pain. It doesn’t hurt that much. From a male doctor after he spent 5 minutes scraping my cervix and uterus with a sharp scalpel for biopsies.

#5

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My sister was in heart failure and taking steroids that caused her to put on weight and have a bloated/puffy appearance.

She was already extremely body conscious so this caused her to stop eating which, in her condition, was non-optional.

Her doctor booked her a consult with a nutritionist. I guess the nutritionist didn’t look at her patient notes as to why we were there.

We show up. My sister’s in shorts. The nutritionist says “Wow. Those shorts are very short. Brave, at your size.”

If the nutritionist had been a man I would’ve probably knocked him unconscious.

#6

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Told me that my problem was i needed to lose weight because he could see stretch marks on my thighs.
I came in for pelvic pain, fever, and I was 16 and weighed 105 pounds.
He was going to do a physical exam but stopped because he saw stretch marks and decided weight was my problem.

I was in the ER the next day for infection in my uterus that required a 2 week hospital stay and IV antibiotics.

#7

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I was newly in remission from blood cancer and realized my face and throat were swelling. I could even feel the pressure in my eyes. I went to the ER was told it was just anxiety, went another week and called to see my primary Dr but he was on vacation so I had to see another Dr in the same bldg. I tell him what’s going on, he tells me “you just have a big neck, it’s ok I have a big neck too”.

Well now I feel like an idiot so I don’t push and just leave, another week and it’s getting worse. In desperation I call my Oncologist who really wasn’t involved at this point since I was in remission but no one else would listen to me and I knew he would.

I go see him and he immediately has me admitted to ER, the next morning I was diagnosed with blood clots on my jugular vein and my vena cava.

#8

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There’s too many to choose honestly 😅

This definitely isn’t the worst, but it was the first, so most memorable.

I went to the ER because I had a sudden onset of severe nausea and abdominal pain that hadn’t subsided in two weeks. I was 13F curled up in the fetal position with my entire body literally quivering from how much pain I was in.

After waiting hours the ER doctor came in. Looked at me. Didn’t exam me. Called me a “nervous ninny” and said I just had anxiety. Before even asking any questions.

We eventually found out I had an intestinal birth defect that has gone undiagnosed. It had caused multiple partial obstructions. Blood flow to my intestine was also compromised so by the time I had surgery my intestinal lining was sloughing off and I was pooping out fleshy chunks.

So yeah. Clearly I was just being over dramatic.

#9

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Not to me, but my dad.

“You have a condition.”

“What is it called?”

“What do you want it to be called?”

Turns out that his exposure to agent orange in Vietnam caused him to develop something akin to MS in his 60s. Before then, no doctor had seen it before, but more and more Vietnam vets are showing it these days.

#10

My therapist. We have a pretty good, comfortable relationship and she knows my sense of humor. Now, i started seeing her after I was in this toxic relationship, and a lot of our sessions had to do with my ex girlfriend. At the end of our session, I ask what my therapist is up to this weekend? She mentions she is going to hang with some of her girl friends. I joke, any of them single? She says, they are not your type. I say, how come? And she says, they are too stable.

Its one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard. She apologized next session, but no apology needed. I loved it.

Image source: Funny2Who

#11

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I went to my primary care doctor when my mental health was spiraling out of control, and I was beginning to feels urges to end things. He derailed the appointment by revolving it around my weight, told me to lose a few pounds and to come back later. He reluctantly sent out a referral to a psychiatrist for me after my condition landed me in the hospital with injuries that don’t bear mentioning here.

I no longer see that doctor.

#12

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First me then a few days later my mom: “It sounds like a bad cold, just take some tylenol for the discomfort and you’ll be fine.” He didn’t listen to our lungs or take an x-ray.

Turns out it was Legionnaire’s disease. I managed to soldier through it on my own sleeping in a recliner so I could breathe, but mom spent a month in the hospital and nearly died. She has permanent lung damage from the incident.

Needless to say we both dumped that doctor after that. Turns out he had a bad reputation for discounting women’s complaints because he felt we tend to exaggerate our symptoms.

#13

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Not to me but to my sister “you’re just a teenager, you’re just feeling growing pains”. She had a tumor in her spine.

Edit: She survived. She’s almost 40 now, totally healthy and hasn’t had a reoccurrence since she was in her 20s.

#14

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Laughed in my face when I was 16 asking for a referral to a psychologist because I was severely depressed and said “You think you’re depressed? You know nothing about life.” I cried so much in front of her out of embarrassment but managed to get that referral. I’m glad I did because I really wanted to end things for myself, that was my last cry for help. Had been struggling since I was aware of myself. That moment was 10 years ago, I’m now in bed with the sweetest 9 month old ever. ❤️.

#15

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As a 14 year old, a doctor coldly and bluntly said “You will be blind by 18.” Just out of the blue. Didn’t talk to my parents first to discuss how to break the news to me. Didn’t care how I was going to react. Just… you’re going to be blind.

I’m in my forties now. I can still see.

#16

I’m a type 1 diabetic. When I was pregnant and toured the hospital to pre register for my delivery, the nurse kept calling me a “bad mommy” for having diabetes. (My a1c was in the 5s and baby weighed 7.5 lbs. I worked really hard at it). F**k her, my husband complained and it went to the top administrators. Pretty sure she got in some hot water over her judgmental attitude.

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#17

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Went to an OB because they have a really nice birthing center. Had my first ultra sound and sat down to talk to the midwife np. She asked why I chose their clinic and I explained how excited I was for the natural birthing facilities and she bluntly says “well you won’t be using that. There’s no heartbeat.” No change in tone, almost like we were talking about traffic or the weather. Then she told me it was ok to cry but I was in shock at how she’d just delivered horrible news like that. This was during Covid as well so I didn’t get to have anyone else in there with me.

#18

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You just need to lose weight. When you are a fat woman everything is because you’re fat.

#19

“You don’t need to get back on anti-depressants, you need a good relapse to get yourself back in the program!”

A psychiatrist I stopped going to. I did get back on anti-depressants and they helped in ways the program never could.

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#20

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Having had breast cancer before the current medical philosophy to do double mastectomies on everyone, when I got breast cancer a 2nd time 15 years later, the surgeon walked into the room, grabbed my bare breast in one of his hands and said to me with his face very close to mine “why do you still have these”?

#21

About my 3yo, whose appointment it was: “he’ll never be an athlete.” Dr was a developmental pediatrician who we were seeing for my son’s mild cerebral palsy. My son was sitting right there.

Ftr, he is 18 now and he is a cyclist and a hiker. He also skateboards, does a little rock-climbing, has done a via ferrata course, kayaks, and has gone caving. Growing up he did gymnastics, parkour, 5 years of special needs AYSO, cross country, and he passed the swimming unit at school. So f**k you very much, Dr.

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#22

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“Looks like there is a tumor in your brain.”

A week later.

“I never said that.”.

#23

He said, “I don’t have time to talk to you about this” (meaning the issue for which I had scheduled the appointment) – He said this AFTER standing outside of the room for over 15 minutes talking football with another patient.

It was a larger practice so I stopped at the desk and got the information to file a complaint. As soon as I got home I called my insurance and changed my PCM, as well as filing a complaint about the doctor with them.

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#24

I had a car accident and I severely cut the palm of my hand. I got stitches, and my skin turned black. It was terrible to look at.

When I went for my check-up, the doctor said, ‘That’s how it’s going to look forever. Don’t expect any improvement.’ I went home crying.

My dad heard me, so we called several doctors and dermatologists and got a cream. Within one month, it was completely healed with no discoloration.

The cream is called Scar Fix, in case anyone has a scar.

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#25

Apparently my very obvious hip malformation was anxiety, hormones, or excess weight (I’m a uk size 8)
Yes I am a gal, how did you know?!
No apology or acknowledgment of medical misogyny.

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#26

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“Whoever did your nose should be sued.” And it was the nose I was born with.

#27

All of my problems are either because of my period, being overweight and anxiety.

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#28

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After being in an accident where a vehicle hit me as a pedestrian, the ER doctor said, “well, you walked here so you’re fine” and tried to discharge me. The NP turned around after taking my vitals and went “OP was hit by a car. This is fight or flight syndrome” and then I went unconscious. I apparently made it to the ER before my lung collapsed and then discovered all the other injuries I didn’t know I had thanks to adrenaline.

#29

This was a long time ago, but I broke out in severe hives. A male doctor suggested it was female hysteria from PMS. I was livid! It was an allergic reaction to hair color as it turned out.

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#30

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1200 calories is clearly not working. Eat 500 per day and I guarantee it will come off.

#31

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That I was faking pain from my ovary cyst to get surgery. Removed my pain medication because of that. Apologized to me after surgery, because “I must have low-balled my actual pain”.

#32

You’re overreacting, this is normal and you’re just being a hysterical first time mom. My baby was stillborn 3 days later. .

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#33

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After I described my severe chronic pain, the specialist looked at my chart, sighed, and said, “Well, you’re getting older. This is just what happens.” It was the most dismissive and professionally negligent sentence I’ve ever heard. It took two more years to find a doctor who listened and diagnosed a treatable condition.

#34

“I don’t believe in ADHD, but tell me why you think you have it anyway.”

Followed by

“Sounds like you have ‘smart kid syndrome’ turned into ‘tired mom syndrome.’”

At least he agreed to give me a referral to someone else who knew w*f they were doing.

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#35

I have issues with anorexia and bulimia and at one point I finally was happy enough with my partners help that I was able to let go of it and gain weight and then my doctor said “you should try intermittent fasting to get your weight down” when my weight ticked one point into the overweight BMI category.

It ended up about as well as you’d think

Also I used to have a prescription for Xanax for panic attacks that I refilled once every like 3 years and when I asked the doctor who replaced my old provider for a refill she said she didn’t believe in prescribing anxiety medications and that I should exercise more (one of my bulemia manifestations was 3 hours of exercise a day at the time lmfao).

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