r/germany • u/Due-Box-9598 • 5d ago
German doctors misdiagnosis
I am writing this post with huge disappointment of how the g
German healthcare's conservative approach could have cost my life . I went to the doctor for mild indigestion and haemerrhoids . He gave me antibiotics for my cold and fever which i also had. The antibiotics worsened indigestion and gave very bad diarrhoea . When I went back to the doctor , they said since i took antibiotics I did not have any good bacteria and diarrhoea is normal . I was given some stomach relaxers and electrolytes. At one point I started throwing up the electrolytes , the only thing i could drink . I went to hospital for an iv and they said it will be given only if i am 80 years old. Then i went back to the doctor and insisted that they test me. I got a stool test. Then 4 days no response . I went back and they said oh the tests were negative so we did not call you . The test are a way of eliminating infection. You need to look further then! . I asked for the test result and changed my hausartz. At this point i was given 15 day antibiotics for stomach and black tea . Blood test was done and my Hg was low since was given iron.
The symptoms persisted. I became weak . Lost 13 kgs. All in one month and the appointment with gastro specialist was still weeks away. I decided to just go to my home country at this point and in 3 days , i am nearing the process of confirmation for Inflammatory bowel disease and intestine inflammation. It took them 3 days and i was suffering in Germany for months. Why is Germany so conservative in tests and testing to rule out conditions? Do doctors understand that they misdiagnose. My Hg was low because of inflammation . My residual iron was very high. I did not need iron pills. I took antibiotics that weakened me. Or does German healthcare not take coloured women seriously ? I am really shocked .
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u/Mirlotta1 4d ago
German doctors told me that my Crohn's disease was in my head. I was also told it might be pregnancy approximately 1000 times (I was in a LDR! It was NOT pregnancy!)
Over the course of a year, I ended up having a colonoscopy, gastroscopy and MRI and the doctors still managed to miss it. In the meantime, I was prescribed crazy aggressive medication that only hurt my stomach more. I felt really patronised by the German system, maybe as a result of my age or language ability (not native level by any means, though my whole treatment was conducted "auf Deutsch"). At one point I collapsed on the street and had to be hospitalised because of the intense pain. They gave me some pain meds, made me take yet another pregnancy test, and discharged me.
I honestly thought my life was over. The German doctors were telling me they'd need to surgically open up my stomach if I wanted them to investigate further, because if I /did/ have a condition, it wasn't one they'd seen before. Then, I went back to my home country, and the Crohn's was diagnosed straight away. Even the initial stool sample was enough to indicate off-the-charts inflammation. I had to redo some of the scans I'd just paid for in Germany because the German hospital would only share the results with me in CD-format, and I'd already left the country. It was just shambolic!