What’s a time when you had a serious problem but a doctor outright refused to help you

I was 48 years old and I got deathly ill at work one day. Couldn’t hold my head up or stay awake. Went home that afternoon and slept to the next morning. The next day I treated myself like I had a virus but by the evening I couldn’t stand it anymore and went to minor med. I insisted I had strep throat and the doctor prescribed antibiotics. Days into taking them I was still very ill and started falling. I fell in the shower and could barely stand up. I tried to dress, but the pain was unbearable and I was getting short of breath. I went to the ER where I insisted I needed a CAT scan of my chest. The doctors drew blood for EVB virus and more things. The doctor treating me wanted do the CT because she could see that I was in distress. Her attending refused, and the doctor was almost crying when she said she had to discharge me. I could barely bend to get my pants on without being in a great deal of pain.

The next day, as I got sicker, I went to my primary care doctor who was enraged that they wouldn’t do the CT and he called radiology at the hospital and told them he was sending me right now and to do it. By the time I arrived at radiology to have the CT done, my breathing was so shallow and I was in such great pain that the test was useless. I started to develop chest pain and the radiologist insisted that I go to the ER. I refused because of what had happened the day before, but he begged me. Again I went to the ER to be completely ignored. I now am thinking they are ignoring me because I was taking several medications for depression. I think they thought I was just anxious. They did an EKG and drew labs but did none of the other protocol for someone having chest pain. I was again released.

Two days later I go to the ER again now because I can’t breathe or swallow. The ER doctor, who I find out is now the attending who had refused me care the first time, pulled open the curtain in an aggressive way. He yelled at me and said, “Miss, this is your third time to my ER in 4 days and I am going to get to the bottom of your issues.” Now I really know he thinks it is all a psych issue. He sent in a nurse to start an IV and give me a drug through it. I discover she has IV Ativan, which is for anxiety. I refused to take it. I told her I was not anxious, I was sick. She persisted and persisted until finally I told her that I was the patient and could refuse any medications that I wanted to. “I am sick.” I told her, “and you need to find out what is wrong with me.” The nasty ER doctor came back into the room and apologized saying that my lab work was off. He prescribed prednisone. He told me that I probably had lupus.

To make a long story short, I finally had a seizure and spent 3 days in the hospital. As I was about to be discharged, the diagnosis was made. Epstein Barr Virus with 7 broken ribs. So, yes, there are doctors who refuse to treat you because they have their own false prejudices.