Is this malpractice? I am so MAD

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twinmaker

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 7, 2005
Messages
1,136
Location
I live in Denver NC
I just got home from the ER. Went this morning at 9:30 and walked back into my house at 5:15. I was diagnosed by my GP three weeks ago with bronchitis. The cough didn't get better after 10 days of antibiotic. No chest x-ray was done. Went back to the GP this past Thursday. He put me on another antibiotic and did a chest x-ray. My cough is unbelievable. My fever was well over 102. He said that the x-ray showed no pneumonia. He did say my defibrillator was in the right spot. (A joke on his part, I guess). I haven't slept in over two days. Went to ER where they did another chest x-ray, a CAT scan of my lungs, heart and kidneys. I have EXTENSIVE infiltrate consistent with pneumonia in the left lung and partial infiltrate in the right lung. We asked the ER doc if this could have occured in the past 48 hours (since my last x-ray) and she said no. This has been brewing for some time. I was given two antibiotics IV today and more to take orally. They said because the rest of my blood work looked good, they would let me come home. They are running blood cultures to see if there is anything going on there. I am SO MAD. How could my GP miss this? I think I'm going to be doing some doc shopping. Thanks for letting me vent. LINDA
 
Hi Linda -

No wonder you're mad! So sorry for what you've been going through. Hope the cultures come out well for you and that the antibiotics quickly kick the thing. Vent away. Then go get some much needed rest. Take care.
 
Ask around for references to a Good Internist. Start with the ER Doc if you can contact her, ask your Cardiologist, and also nurses you know / meet.

Good Luck !

'AL Capshaw'
 
I agree it's time to shop for a new pcp, Linda. Hope the antibiotics kick in and you are feeling better soon.
 
I am so sorry you had th go through all that Linda...what a ding dong that dr is. I HATE it when drs are like that....:mad: Deb ps-hope you are better SOON!!!!
 
Hope you feel better soon! A lot to be going through.

Just a thought in partial defense of your doc, the x-ray films (at least here) are usually read by a radiologist who then sends a written report to your doc on the results. So it may not have been your doc who misread the films. Although one does think that s/he should have picked up on how very ill you were.

Hope those new antibiotics kick in right away.
 
Oh, what a horrid story. I have also had bronchitis, and it can be just awful. I hope they gave you a cough med with codeine. It is the only thing that helped me get some sleep, albeit only a few hours at a time. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Marybeth
 
Linda

I would also get an appointment with a good pulmonary specialist.....pneumonia is nothing to fool with. Also, when you're better, get the pneumonia shot......we do every 5 years.

Evelyn
 
Hi
I am new to this site. I had my aortic valve replaced 3 months ago and have been reading post for many months.

I hope you are feeling better and hopefully I can shed a little light on the issue. It is very common for pneumonia to not show up an x-ray and even 6 hrs later be seen on a subsequent x-ray. When someone is dehydrated pneumonia may not show up on chest x-ray but once IV fluid is given, pneumonia can become obvious. Also a pneumonia may not be visible on chest x-ray but easily seen on a chest ct like you had. If your doctor thought you had pneumonia and the chest x-ray was negative he should have treated you with antibiotics for pneumonia anyway.

Mark

Mech aortic valve 12/2006
 
Linda, when you get your brand new dr, ask him to get copies of all your records, esp these most recent ones, from the dr you have fired. Or ask for them yourself at the hospital or wherever they are. You might have to pay for them but you probly should get them. Then you can discover what/who the culprit is here.

In meantime, take good care of yourself. Like the others said, this is nothing to mess around with.
 
Just thought I'd log on for a second as I'm having to get ready to see my doctor. Unfortunately, or fortunately for him, he's not in today so I'm having to see his associate. The ER doc said I had to be seen today and since I'm in no shape to find a new doctor today, I'm having to go back to this office. Thank you all for your comments and good wishes. I'm a little better at times although my fever is still over 102 when I'm due for more Tylenol. I had a horrible bout of dry heaves yesterday morning. I guess it was a case of having no appetite and having to take a lot of meds with no food on my stomach. (Probably more info than you all want).:eek: I got a little sleep sitting up in the lazy boy last night. Mark, welcome to the site! Believe me, I'm not the kind of person that jumps on every mistake a doctor may make. They're human also. When I had my x-ray in the hospital I had not been given any IV fluids. They diagnosed the pneumonia from those x-rays. The reason for the CT scan is that they saw something that looked like a blood clot on the x-ray and that along with one of my blood tests suggesting it might be a clot made them do the CT scan. Thank goodness there was no clot. You know, hensylee, we stopped by my doctor's office Sat. morning on the way to the ER and asked for my x-rays taken on Thursday. My doc wasn't in but another one in the practice was. They said my doctor was the only one who could give permission for me to have my x-rays. Nan, I only wish my doctor sent his x-rays out to be read by a radiologist, but they took them in his office, developed them and he read them. Believe me, after I find my new doc, I will get all my records, no matter what the cost. Susan, thanks for checking back in on me. Thank you all again for your thoughts and prayers. I'll let you know how it's going. LINDA
 
I saw my doc's associate today. He spent a good 30-45 minutes with my husband and me. Went through everything with him. He added an inhaler to my other meds. He was concerned that after being on the Levaquin for 4 days that I was still running a fever. He upped the dose of the Levaquin. He said I was sick enough to be in the hospital now. He left it up to me as far as going. He said the biggest benefit of being in the hosp. would be the resp. therapy that I would be receiving. Of course, as always the downside would be an unconducive environment for rest and possibly catching something else. He wants to see me again on Wed. and he said at that time if I wasn't better then I would be going into the hospital on Wed. and to be prepared for doing so. I wouldn't have a choice. We said we would only see him on Wed. and not my (former) doctor. Please pray that I turn the corner on this soon. Thanks. That's where things stand for now. LINDA
 
Linda
I had hoped they would add a steroid to the antibiotic to pump it up a few notches. That is what the pulmonologist would do when the pneumonia would settle into my collapsed lung.
 
Linda, I'm so sorry that you are still ailing- sending my prayers that the increased dose makes you turn the corner.
 
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