#1
Something is usually off.
Edit: unless you’re a woman of course. Then it’s *clearly* emotions or pregnancy.
W1ldy0uth:
Anytime one of my patients says “ i don’t know something just doesn’t feel right,” I get nervous. I’ve had way too many patients cardiac arrest on me after saying that.
#2
PurpleConversation36:
Yeah you know I tried taking that seriously and reporting it and I got told it was anxiety so eventually I stopped going in when it happened until this one time where I suddenly couldn’t talk as well.
Turns out it was actually a series of TIAs followed by a stroke.
#3
Generally cavities don’t hurt until the tooth needs a root canal or is close to needing a root canal.
Periodontal disease is even worse. It might never hurt and then one day a couple of your teeth are wiggly and you have to go to the dentist and maybe it’s way too late and we have to pull all your teeth.
If you don’t trust your dentist then find a new dentist.
Sitting in a hospital waiting room can be a giant hassle that nobody looks forward to. But even healthcare pros agree that an apple a day isn’t going to fix a problem you’ve been actively sweeping under the rug.
The real problem is that severe illnesses don’t start out looking like a full-blown emergency. They show up in sneaky ways — a little extra fatigue, a dull headache that won’t go away, or a minor stomach bug that lingers a week too long.
Symptoms often overlap, mask themselves, or feel completely minor — right up until they aren’t.
#4
I had a patient that ignored her dull pain radiating from her shoulder to upper back/ shoulder blade for 3-4 days. She ended up with a heart attack.
30-45% of women have no chest pain during a heart attack.
#5
muddycrash:
Yes. I thought Ozempic was working, turns out I also had leukemia. Oops. Completely in remission now. All good. Gained all the weight back. I'm fine with it. As my doctor said "Be kind to yourself and your body, it carried you through this illness and into recovery. If you were thin at the beginning of it all, your chances of survival would have been less."
Conscious_Citron1746:
Definitely this! A friend of mine suddenly started to look a little thinner over the months and she jokingly said to me, “I probably have cancer or something.” fast forward a few months later she went to her doctor who diagnosed her with liver cancer. She got toothpick skinny, used a wheelchair, had to use a catheter, then couple weeks before she passed she started to lose her voice. Oh and she smoked like a chimney her whole life even with cancer.
#6
The consequences of playing the waiting game are very real. Studies from the National Cancer Institute show that even a few months’ delay in getting checked out for seemingly minor issues — like an unexpected lump or unusual bleeding — can dramatically shift a diagnosis from “easily treatable” to “stage four.”
It gets even crazier when you look at how often we actually do this to ourselves. A Cancer Research UK study looking at nearly 7,000 adults found that roughly one in three people waited over six whole months to call their doctor after spotting a potential cancer red flag.
Think about that for a second… half a year of just sitting on a major warning sign. Why? Mostly because booking an appointment felt like a total hassle, or people figured they could just tough it out and deal with the symptoms on their own.
As a result, critical alarm bells — like unexplained weight loss, weird new bumps, changing moles, or even coughing up blood — were routinely swept right under the rug.
#7
One of my first patients came in with an ulcerated skin lesion the size and shape of a big button mushroom AND a cervical lymph node approaching the size of a baseball. Unrelated oral and skin cancers. He was treating with hydrogen peroxide, obviously.
Still my patient 14 years later!
#8
SplatDragon00:
Oml I care for my grandma and every time she has a UTI I go to her doctor. "she has a UTI" "what are her symptoms" "she's acting really confused exactly like the other times she's had a UTI" "no, that's her alzheimers. You need to educate yourself you can't be running her up every time she acts funny" then, shocker, I finally get them to test her pee and UTI! And after the antibiotics she stops seeing people in the yard that aren't there and thinking movies are real
#9
“If your patient is sweating, you should be too”
Edit: to be more informative, could be a sign of very many bad things. Severe hypoglycemia, acute leukemias/lymphomas, tuberculosis, shock, heart attacks. All of which could [end] you. Could also be menopause as someone suggested
But in the context of hospitalized people (which is a sicker subset than the general population), there’s a significant chance it’s something bad in the correct context.
A recent survey of 2,000 Americans found that six in ten people actively ignore health issues simply because they don’t feel “serious” enough. About 58% of women admitted they’d rather ignore a minor symptom than deal with it.
The whole issue comes down to a massive knowledge gap. Most of us just don’t realize that mild-looking issues — like a sudden skin rash, weird sleep habits, or ongoing stomach troubles — can actually be early warnings.
Out of everyone who ignores these minor signs, 43% said they brush them off for one simple reason: they just assume it’s no big deal.
#10
Edit: Another more obvious sign would be rectal bleeding. Lot's of questions on how to get a colonoscopy when you're under the screening threshold. If you have any of the above symptoms the procedure gets coded as "diagnostic". So this likely will be more expensive than the "screening" colonoscopy. Don't get me started on the American insurance system. But these symptoms could be a sign of colon cancer or inflammatory bowel disease (UC or Crohns). I'm also seeing polyps more and more younger patients to the point that I myself got a diagnostic colonoscopy (I'm in my 30s).
#11
#12
So many patients show up weeks or months after it starts, with severe weakness or paralysis and are subsequently diagnosed with spinal tumors or stenosis. Then have to have major surgery and are practically bedbound after from the weakness.
What’s wild is how we talk ourselves out of seeking help, depending on who we are.
A survey by Talked Research in the US found that men tend to play the tough guy, with 46% saying they ignore symptoms because they reckon they can just muscle through the pain. Women, on the other hand, take a different route — 44% hold back simply because they don’t want to make a scene or overreact.
#13
#14
People will say it casually like they’re describing a bad migraine, but that phrase makes medical people sit up very fast. Especially if it came on suddenly, like a switch flipped.
Could be nothing. Could also be the kind of thing where you really, really don’t want to “sleep it off.”
#15
We can’t keep blaming patients for staying home, though. When someone decides to skip the doctor’s office, it’s rarely because of pure stubbornness or simple denial. Systemic roadblocks stand in the way — and for millions of people, the hesitation is entirely justified.
For instance, nearly all Americans carry health insurance today, but having a card in your wallet no longer guarantees you can actually afford to get sick. Healthcare debt has officially ballooned into a national crisis, with Americans collectively owing an estimated $220 billion in medical bills.
#16
One patient I came across had a AAA that was close to rupturing while my cousin thought it was bad food, only to learn he had stage 4 colon cancer.
#17
More than 100 million people in America — 41% of adults — are saddled with medical bills they cannot pay, according to a KFF Health News investigation.
“Millions of Americans are avoiding medical care, putting off needed surgeries, skipping essential treatments. This isn’t just a health care issue. It’s an economic crisis that’s keeping families from building wealth and fully participating in the economy. When credit scores are dinged by medical bills, everyone loses,” said Allison Sesso, president and chief executive of Undue Medical Debt.
A survey by JG Wentworth found that 92% of US adults have delayed or skipped healthcare because of cost concerns. Even worse, 95% of those surveyed admitted that an unexpected hospital trip would push them straight into serious debt — even with an active insurance plan.
When choosing between an expensive checkup and paying next month’s rent, it’s easy to see why people talk themselves into believing that a lingering cough is nothing.
#18
“I’m having anxiety” or “I’m constipated”
These are the chief complaints that turn into M&Ms.
#19
I work in ICU stepdown which is mainly a cardiac floor. Recently had a lady who ended up cardiac arresting and going into flash pulmonary edema, she actually survived, she told me her legs were puffy and swollen for months beforehand and were getting progressively worse. Never sought help. Well she ended up having like 10L of fluid diuresed out once we got to her.
Financial barriers sit right on top of a medical system stretched past its breaking point. Even when a patient finally decides to stop ignoring their body and reach out, the clock keeps ticking against them.
Finding an available doctor covered by your insurance can take weeks, pushing critical diagnostic appointments months down the road.
#20
Got sudden back pain and you're over, say, 50 years old? Head straight to the Emergency department and have it checked out. It could be a trapped fart, it could be constipation, it could be a kidney stone ... but it could also be the grim reaper knocking on that AAA.