We trust doctors with our lives, sometimes, a little too much. Most visits end with relief and reassurance, but for some people, what happened in those cold, white rooms still keeps them awake at night. From fake physicians and chilling mistakes to moments that blurred the line between medical and mysterious — these stories prove that even a routine check-up can turn into something you’ll never forget.
Story1
Before we were engaged, and before we were even living together, my fiancée went to a GP for some persistent headaches she had. The GP looked at her birthdate, saw she was 32, and started lecturing her that time was running out, she needed to have kids ASAP, and she needed to go home immediately and tell me that we were going to start trying for children.
Note: She didn’t mention anything about kids at all, and he didn’t know her history at all—legit, the first (and last) time she’d ever seen him. © Dropbbear / Reddit
Story2
A doctor told my mom I was faking my ski accident injuries because “teenage girls are known to exaggerate.” I had cracked my helmet, had a broken back, and a major concussion. © Empeets / Reddit
Story3
The dentist said I needed eight fillings. I hesitated, but he insisted. Two years later, I switched clinics — turns out, I never had any cavities. That dentist had been under investigation for insurance fraud. And yes, he smiled the whole time he drilled my healthy teeth.
Story4
I had just given birth, and my daughter needed to stay in the hospital, but I was ready to be discharged. The doctor talked to my husband like I wasn’t there. He told him I had postnatal depression (apparently, I wasn’t supposed to be upset about leaving the hospital without my baby). The doctor handed him a prescription for antidepressants and told my husband he needed to force me to take them. © rowenaravenclaw0 / Reddit
Story5
The doctor looked pale when he read my file. “You need surgery. Immediately.” I cried all the way to the OR prep room. Then a nurse rushed in, whispering frantically — it wasn’t my chart. They’d mixed me up with another patient. Same last name. Different diagnosis.
Story6
I started having irregular menstrual cycles and went to my gyn. They wouldn’t listen to me and kept prescribing me things without doing any tests. So I went to my primary doctor to get a referral for some ultrasounds.
My doctor said, “You’re probably pregnant. I’m not even the doctor you’re supposed to see for these types of things, but I’m going to take you because I have to. You’re probably pregnant.”
After that, she made me take a pregnancy test that I knew would be negative. When it came back negative, she looked at me and said, “Well, I’ll write you a referral for that ultrasound.” I never went back to her again. © Unknown author / Reddit
Story7
I went to my old doctor for allergy pills. I had just moved in with my partner, and he had a cat. She gave me the prescription but then also asked how old the cat was and, in her words, said, “Maybe it will just die soon.” © yslhc / Reddit
Story8
I would constantly complain to my doctor that I couldn’t breathe when I walked and that I would get shortness of breath. I was always tired and fatigued, and I would get dizzy if I walked too long. She always brushed it off and told me to get more sleep or drink more water, even though I was getting plenty of both.
Finally, I made an appointment to talk to her face-to-face, and she flat-out told me I was lazy and needed to exercise more. I was so embarrassed because I went with my husband, and she made me feel like I was just this lazy couch potato.
I switched doctors, and my new doctor decided to do blood work—something that other lady should have done in the first place—and found out I was severely anemic to the point of needing blood transfusions. I felt sooo much better after I got my infusions. Some people just shouldn’t be practicing medicine! © NotAsPlanned- / Reddit
Story9
I had my period for two weeks when it normally lasted four days. The doctor didn’t take me seriously. I went in two weeks later with the same issue, plus terrible cramps. Nothing.
On day 47 of my period, they finally said, “Here’s a new pill to fix it.” That’s all it took. Instead, they made me wait an extra month before doing anything. © Barneryr / Reddit
Story10
I was like 12 and went for a check-up. The doctor asked me over six times if I could be pregnant, to the point where my mom had to step in and say, “Look, she isn’t pregnant, and I don’t know why you keep asking.” Literally no reason for it. © Pessimist_Reality / Reddit
Story11
I was 18 and had just had a baby, and my epidural was taking a long time to wear off. The nurse came in to transfer me to the recovery room, and I told her I still didn’t have any feeling in my legs. She said, “It should have worn off half an hour ago,” and started trying to get me out of bed and into the wheelchair.
I said I was going to need help, so another nurse came in. They had to move my legs off the bed (which should have been the second clue), and then they hoisted me up. I, of course, crumpled immediately. As they were trying to get me off the floor, the first nurse yelled at me, “You have to try to stand up!”
I yelled back, “What part of ’I can’t feel my legs’ did you not hear?!” When my mom heard about it, she went and gave them a piece of her mind. I didn’t see that particular nurse again. © sugabeetus / Reddit
Story12
I went to a new gynecologist because my old one retired. As he examined me, he whispered, “You remind me of my first love.” I froze. The appointment ended quickly. A week later, I found out he had been my mother’s doctor thirty years ago. She confirmed it — he’d said the exact same words to her during her first pregnancy.