Terrifying Medical Nightmares As Told By the People Who Experienced Them

Doctors and nurses expect to see some pretty strange things when they come into work each day. From truly violent deeds to accidents that got out of hand, many of the strange sights at the emergency room are more gruesome than most people can handle.

And even people coming in for routine check ups are sometimes told that they have a serious medical problem that needs immediate care. These medical nightmares might make your stomach churn, but they could also teach you a lesson in patience.

If some of these people had seen a doctor much sooner, their problems wouldn’t have gotten the chance to get as bad as they did.

A Bad Way to Find Out You Have a High Tolerance to Pain

When I was 14 years old, I started getting an upset stomach one night and it wasn’t just another bellyache. Maybe a little bit more intense, but I slept through it pretty well.

The next morning, my parents got me an appointment with the doctor to see if I was okay. We got through it all, but we had to wait at one point, and it was taking quite a long time.

I told my mom, “We should just go home, it’s probably nothing…” and then the next thing I knew, I needed surgery. When I was talking to the doctor before the surgery, he explained that my appendix had burst, and he said I just had a very high tolerance to pain.

In fact, he was surprised I was able to sleep through it.

He also explained that if I didn’t have surgery when I did, I wouldn’t have made it. I can see now why a lot of people think that having a high tolerance to pain isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Story credit: Reddit /Iron_Archer

I Don’t Know What the Big Deal Was

I’ve always had headaches, almost daily. About 10 years ago, I started seeing weird auras that would take up my whole vision, and then I’d get a terrible headache that would make me want to end it all. Maybe once a year that would happen.

About three years ago, we got really good insurance. Then, I got several auras in a row, and I started to worry that it was a detached retina or something.

So I went to an ophthalmologist, who dilated my eyes and looked around. He suggested I see a neurologist, and maybe they’d do an MRI. Meanwhile, I had a stomach ache that lasted for a few days—very odd for me, since I don’t really get them.

But it woke me up in the middle of the night, and I had another aura visual—but no headache.

I saw the neurologist a week later and boy did he like talking about how fat I was. I had three kids in three years, so naturally, I became squishy—not morbidly obese, but I did have some mobility issues. Deal with it.

They were able to get me in for the MRI that day, and despite being claustrophobic, it wasn’t terrible.

I walked out to the parking lot, and they called me back in. When I got in, she told me I’d had a stroke, and they needed to admit me to the ER. The office was at the hospital already, so she literally just walked me through like two doors, and I didn’t even have to wait in the lobby.

I spent three days being poked and prodded. I never really saw the big deal, it was just a stomach ache and dancing lights. I’m doing a lot better now.

Story credit: Reddit /MANDALORIAN_WHISKEY

Something Felt Off

When I was a fourth-year resident, my first rotation in the hospital was in radiology. I was waiting with a patient after an ultrasound and they told me they were thirsty.

They take a sip of water but then start mumbling. It was incoherent to us but his daughter said he had spoken like that before. She said something felt off. She was all too right.

One second he was fine, and moments later he’s just quietly staring off into space and I start to wonder what’s going on. We check him and one of my seniors calls our resident and immediately starts CPR.

He was wheeled down to the ER but we lost him later that day. Since then I’ve had many patients but this memory still makes me feel weird.

Story credit: Reddit /ecksdeeeXD

Strong and Silent Type

My father went to the hospital with chest pains, and they decided to do an angiogram. The process injects dye into his valves to look for clots.

During his procedure, the surgeon asks if he suffers from blackouts, and a few more doctors get called in to have a look. My dad is the strong silent type but admits to minimal daily pain.

They take him to another type of X-ray machine and again are looking in bemusement without explaining anything. Turns out there was a blood clot the size of a golf ball floating free in his heart.

It normally should have taken out someone quickly and the doctors were all intrigued. He had a triple bypass 30 years ago and is still the strong and silent type.

Story credit: Reddit /monkeypowah