Were you ever seriously misdiagnosed while in the military? The problem is often more complex than you think.

Over the years, I have received the following misdiagnoses:

Lyme Disease
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Radial Tunnel Syndrome
Cubital Tunnel Syndrome
Osteoarthritis
Lupus
You're Faking It
Tendonitis
Lupus (2nd diagnosis)

All of that and it finally turned out that I have Fibromyalgia. Because I was treated for everything listed above, I took a lot of pain medication I didn't need to take (It never helped) and as a result, I have kidney damage and acid reflux disease.

Additionally, I have something called Plica Syndrome. I had surgery to remove it (It's basically extra tissue on the outside of my knee that snaps like a guitar string when I put pressure on it, usually when I run). The surgeon did the wrong surgery and made my knee worse. I went from being able to run at my own pace and distance while still being able to make my time on the 2 mile run, to not being able to run at all. The tissue is still in there since the surgeon did the wrong procedure, and now I have problems on the other side of the knee.

I am reticent to go to the doctors on post anymore... for anything. After 17+ years in the military and so many misdiagnoses, I am much worse now than I would be if they just figured it out when the symptoms started. I would still be able to run, do push-ups, and sit-ups. Now, all I can do is the walk. That's it. Now, I only go to the hospital if it's an emergency.

Speaking of emergencies, I had a cyst develop in my left forearm above the elbow. I went in for treatment and it wasn't treated properly, became horribly infected, and I was hospitalized for 2 days as a result. So... yeah, my experiences with military medicine have been pretty bad. I did get LASIK back in 2001 and it was done very well. No complaints there.

Yes. There are a few of my Soldiers who had some. Some were told they had something bad but actually was something mild. However, most are given an advil and a bag of ice and told to go back to work. I mean if you weren't carried in on a stretcher then you should be able to go back to work. That is the thought of some. However, I have had good luck with my doctors overall. Though not many know what to do with some issues and that is why they refer to specialists. We just need to work within the system we have and fight to make it better.

I received a hysterectomy due to the negligence of the military "doctors" who failed to send me to other clinics. Apparently complaining of extreme pain in/around my lady parts was annoying/malingering. As a result, I had an awful surgery with complications at the age of 23 and got out medically for a few reasons not just the loss of an anatomical organ. To be told by civilian doctors you have something completely different which causes the same pain that would warrant a hysterectomy, why were you not seen by Urology or a GI specialist? My response was I was a Soldier and did what I was told even after trying to fight for my medical issues and was dismissed as being a malingerer.

For those of you still on active duty: As someone who worked in the AMEDD, I strongly advise that you be your own strongest advocate. The doctor may not remember that he or she has treated you eight times for the same ailment, or that it has been going on for ten months. They only get 20 minutes per patient, and each has a panel of over a thousand patients (and this is roughly the same for ALL services), so they don't have time to read your entire chart. Remind them, and let them know you need the issue resolved. Be frank about dispelling the idea that you are looking for a profile or to get out of a run if you think that is what is in the back of their mind. And if you think they aren't taking you seriously enough, let them know that they are your only source for healthcare and that you need your concerns addressed.

If you have any issue with the way your care is handled, you can contact the patient advocate. In Army facilities, the patient advocate is often the Clinic OIC or NCOIC, but if you want to take the matter to someone outside the clinic you can look online for the hospital patient advocate. The matter will still be sent down to the Clinic OIC or NCOIC for resolution, but the hospital patient advocate will have visibility of it, and will report the matter to the hospital commander (and other appropriate personnel) as needed to ensure the matter is completely resolved. All clinics are REQUIRED to have signs posted with the patient advocate information on them.

For each issue, they should be able to tell you what the differential diagnosis (the possibilities of what it could be) is, and what they will do to rule each thing out or in. They are all taught that "When you hear hoof beats look for horses, not zebras." (I swear, they must make doctors tattoo that someplace.) Meaning that they will look for the most obvious and common answers. But if they keep trying all of that and striking out, remind them that zebras do have hooves, too! In any case, it should be a dialogue between the two of you - make it one.

And if you have an issue where you think you are getting the wrong diagnosis or where you have a serious decision to make and need more information from another source - you CAN ask for a second opinion! Most physicians will be understanding, but even if they aren't it is your right - just be respectful about it. It may be from another physician inside the same clinic, but they do not automatically agree with each other.

I believe the original question was benign, but it quickly turned into spiteful storytelling. As a career Army provider I am a bit taken back by the amount of badmouthing of military providers. Active Duty providers typically make fewer mistakes, graduate higher in their classes, have to be board certified, and have a unique relationship with their patients when compared to their civilian counterparts. It is always in the best interest of the provider to make the right diagnosis, and get you back to the fight. They may be in the foxhole with you. While mistakes are made and we take it to heart when we make them, there are times when there is poor follow up, leading to reinjury. I do not blame any one thing for bad outcomes. Each has their own story. But you are delusional to think you are gong to get better care by a civilian.

Pardon grammatical errors, typed on iPhone.

I had a lower back injury that I sustained early in my initial enlistment. I lived with it for nearly ten years. Eventually I got tired of the debilitating, often crippling pain -- sometimes I could barely get out of bed, literally -- I had to roll off my bed, lay on the floor, and "dig deep" to actually push myself into a standing position. Getting dressed for PT was a nightmare.

I went to "Killabro" Army Medical on Ft Meade, formally known as Kimbrough. For the record, I believe over 75% of the doctors and nurses employed there are civilians. Anyway, the practitioner there set me up for x-rays. Nothing discovered. I said "if this is a lower back thing, and it's muscular, is that going to show up on an X-ray? I thought that was for bones and foreign objects."

She huffed and puffed and said an x-ray was all I needed. I again asked, "So you're telling me you can see muscular issues on an x-ray?" More huffing and puffing. I requested a different nurse/doctor whatever after I walked away. I was basically told the same thing.

So this time, I said "I'd like to request an MRI. And I'm going to continue coming to sick call and asking for an MRI every morning until my CO and 1SG take an interest in why their soldier is down here every day. And when they ask me, I'll ask them to get the BC and Sergeant Major involved. So can I have an MRI?"

The response I was given, verbatim, was "*SIGH* fine, I'll schedule you for an MRI down at Walter Reed if it will shut you up and get you out of here."

Fast forward to the day my MRI results were in. Surprise surprise, problem was found, treated, and I'm much better, but will never be 100% right as rain.

Again, I really want to thank all our medical providers for everything they do. The success rates are FAR higher than the misdiagnoses. I am only trying to bring to light the fact that no one is perfect, and second opinions can be instrumental in getting relief. Until Star Trek Tricorders come out, we are at the mercy of the technology we have available and the experience of the practitioners. It is like fixing anything mechanical. Some operators can switch out engines faster...some make sure all the cannon plugs are hooked up before considering replacing the engine. Uncle Mark

I was never seriously misdiagnosed, only on somewhat minor issues (torn ligaments and some stomach issues) but there was a Marine in my shop the Navy drs almost killed. For quite some time he was having serious headaches, sight going blurry, and other issues. He went to the Drs over and over and they kept blowing him off. Then he noticed one of his eyes was protruding from the socket a little. He went to the eye dr and a regular dr on base and both told him it had probably always been like that and he just hadn't noticed. He went home on leave, had a civilian Dr check it out and sure enough, massive tumor behind his eye. The civilian dr and the specialists they sent him to told the guy had he waited another few weeks he would have most likely been dead. The surgery (civilian specialists up in PA or something like that) went ok, but he was told he will never regain full vision and will always have problems from it because it went so long and did so much damage, that and with all they had to do to remove it.

Fort Bragg NC, 1992-1995 i consistently had ankle pain. "Diagnoses" was strain, bruise, bad running shoes, lazyness etc. repeatedly I was placed on run-at-your-own-pace profiles. Useless as much of this time I ran our remedial PT program for thisw who fell out of brigade runs. We ran my pace, daily, mile after mile.
On leaving Bragg we learned I had 4 and 5 stress fractures in each ankle.

SFC Mark Merino a travesty of medical justice. Perhaps if you had seen a chiropractor with those symptoms they would of insisted on another MRI with contrast. That is call Dejarines Triad, your symptoms were textbook herniated disc. See picture, number one for a reason. Sorry buddy, happy to hear you're on the mend.