SM
Siphesihle M

1 reviews | Active since Sept 2021

31 Jan 2023, 15:40

Misdiagnosed because of my Bipolar Disorder

1 is just for the service. I was in casualty on 21-11-2022 around late in the afternoon. I had a sudden shortness of breath and chest tightness. With excruciating chest pain. I was not able to breathe and had a piercing pain through my chest to my back. (I had chest tightness days prior to the incident). My sisters managed to call an ambulance while I was being nebulized( my sister suffers from asthma so I had no choice than to use the nebulizer to try and open my airways because I felt like I was dying at that point). So when the medics arrived, obviously they asked questions about my medical history and everything and asked about chronic medication I'm using. By this time I was already calm. I am on chronic medication for Bipolar Type 2. Told them which meds I was taking and they sent me to hospital saying they think I might have suffered a panic attack. Upon arrival, Doctor also asked me if was there anything stressing me. I told him no because really nothing was. They did a couple of tests on me and sent me to get an Xray of my chest. They told me I just suffered an anxiety attack. I told them over and over that I know what a panic /anxiety attack felt like and this was different. It didn't feel nothing like it. Even though I told them about my symptoms, they still claimed it as an anxiety attack and told me to visit my gp for more tests. Even with the symptoms, there was coughing and wheezing involved. I didn't go to my GP till recently because I was tired of being told it was an anxiety attack. I went to him and gave him the test results and everything. My GP redid the xray and blood tests, he also suspected panic attacks, but then he went the extra mile and did a spirometry and bronchodilator test. That's when we found that I am indeed suffering from asthma(failed the test dismally). On the other hand, Life Mercantile hospital claimed as an anxiety attack, which my medical aid connected it to the waiting period I had on Bipolar Disorder and refused to pay the hospital. I tried to get them to review it with no avail. I am now required to pay (yet I was misdiagnosed by the hospital). I don't know which one is more upsetting, it's them thinking they know better and not actually listening to patient symptoms, or not trying to go the extra mile to check for these symptoms, or them just quickly diagnosing it as an anxiety attack because I am living with Bipolar. The hospital has not made any contact with me in terms of paying the bill, but I recently saw on my claims that there were claims not paid by my medical aid because of such.

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Replies (1)
Life Healthcare
Life Healthcare's reply31 Jan 2023, 15:51
Official
Hi Siphesihle

Thank you for getting in touch. Please be advised that we have shared your contact details and escalated this matter to hospital management, someone will be in touch soon.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you not hear anything. 

Regards,
Life Healthcare