Why wouldn’t my doctor or the nurse listen to me?

Dear Viki,

I was having a terrible allergic reaction to a new medicine and the nurse at the doctor’s office wouldn’t take me seriously. My skin was turning red and was burning and my lips were stinging and swelling. It took me days before anybody took me seriously. I called over and over again for three days. And then when I finally talked to the doctor, she said I should keep taking the medicine because it was important for my heart. Eventually I got an appointment with another doctor and when I stopped the new medicine, all the symptoms went away. What could I have done to get their attention?

I am so sorry this happened to you. First thing, if you are having a terrible reaction to a medication, go to the emergency room. Some allergic reactions can become fatal. Regarding your doctor and the nurse, you have a problem. This is an office that isn’t taking your complaints seriously. Either they didn’t believe you or they didn’t realize it was serious. Either way you are in trouble.

Be thankful you have found out now that this doctor isn’t a good fit for you. This doesn’t mean this is a bad doctor, just not the right doctor for you. For some reason, they wouldn’t believe you and you can’t take the chance that this might happen in the future. This could be dangerous to your health.

Even it wasn’t the doctor who made the mistake, the doctor has a nurse working for her that doesn’t respect what the patient says or doesn’t pass on the messages appropriately. You can not take that risk. What if it is truly life threatening the next time? I highly recommend that you take this as a warning and find a different office. Sometimes in life we get the gift of knowledge. Use this experience to protect yourself and get an doctor’s office that will listen to you.

Have a kind and respectful day.