Should doctors just assume....

[cupid04]

A neighbour of mine suffered bad migraines for years. The doctors never did anything
apart from send her home with more medication. She gradually got worse and
worse, but the doctors assumed it must stil be migraine and sent her home again.
She eventually died of brain tumour. Her husband is in pieces, thinking if they had
looked into it further, she might still be here.

[ethandron]

my sister died of a brain tumour and didn't have one single headache. from the little i know about it, headaches aren't necessarily a symptom of having a brain tumour.

[cupid04]

I am very sorry for your loss, ethandron. xx

[DTCwordfan]

tragic ethandron, sorry to hear that and, yes, I have heard that you do not need a headache - negligence in the case of cupid's friend I think.....

Sqad is back on I see (welcome back) and I am sure he will comment.......

[Sqad]

If doctors sent all patients with headaches for brain scans, the NHS would collapse, it couldn´t cope.

These diagnostic tragedies occur on a fairly regular basis as Medicine is not an exact science.

Misdiagnosis does not necessarily mean negligence.

When these cases occur, the doctor feels badly, but that is no consolation for either parties.

[ethandron]

thank you, it was 3 years ago so time is healing.....
my sister's symptoms were more like a stroke, getting progressively more severe. i'm sure there are many others with many other symptoms though.

[sara3]

my ex had a massive stroke which was mis-diagnosed as a migraine.. really, even after he lay paralysed down his right side, couldn't speak etc (classic symptoms) in hospital for over 6 weeks. they didn't have a clue.

I'm sorry for your neighbour, how sad x