What Are the Most Commonly Misdiagnosed Medical Conditions?

What Medical Conditions Are Most Commonly Misdiagnosed?

Sadly, there are times when doctors and other medical staff can miss a medical condition that you present with, either not diagnosing you properly or failing to give you appropriate treatment. The consequences from this mistake – which impacts as many as 12 million people every year – can be serious and lead to a major injury, or even death. As such, you need to be an alert patient and make sure you are advocating for yourself.

Furthermore, if you believe that you have been hurt by a medical misdiagnosis, you may want to consider contacting a personal injury lawyer to discuss your legal options. Suing over a misdiagnosed illness is nothing that anyone ever wants to do, but sadly, there may be times where it becomes necessary in order to protect yourself.

Most Common Misdiagnosed Conditions

The most commonly misdiagnosed conditions include:

• Lupus: Lupus is an inflammatory disease that can cause heart trouble, kidney malfunctions, joint pain, and more. The issue with Lupus is that it can often be misdiagnosed with many other conditions – including some on this list – such as chronic fatigue syndrome and arthritis.
• Parkinson’s disease: Parkinson’s disease is a disorder of your central nervous system that can cause tremors, pain, and cognitive malfunction. It impacts millions of people every year but can easily be confused with a variety of other injuries and illnesses, including a stroke or Alzheimer’s. Part of the problem is that there is no set test that can definitively diagnose someone with Parkinson’s.
• Fibromyalgia: Fibromyalgia is a disorder that can cause a variety of symptoms, including significant pain and fatigue. It can often be confused with arthritis and Parkinson’s. Like Parkinson’s, no test can be made that will formally diagnosis someone with fibromyalgia, making diagnosis and treatment much more difficult.
• Lyme disease: Lyme disease comes as a result of a tick bite and can cause pain, breathing issues, nausea, stiffness, and more. A blood test can be used to rule out this disorder, which can often be confused with the flu or other illnesses.
• Multiple sclerosis: This autoimmune disorder is particularly devastating, as it can ultimately lead to major balance issues, pain, and loss of movement. It can be confused with many other physical illnesses, which is why serious testing is needed to determine what someone’s physical issue may be.

How to Protect Yourself

While medical misdiagnoses do occur, there are many ways in which you can protect yourself. These include:

• Be an active, engaged patient. Take notes, write down your symptoms, ask your doctors questions, and do your own research. While you shouldn’t confuse your own research with a doctor’s advice, actively being engaged in your own treatment can ensure that you are protected and that your doctor knows you are paying attention.
• Keep your own paperwork. Maintain your own records and write down notes about your medical experiences. Doing so can help make sure that you keep track of what your doctors actually tell you.
• Make sure to check the instructions your doctor gives you for medication or testing against the information given to you by your pharmacist or another treatment facility.
• Ask questions and make sure you fully understand what your doctor is thinking and why they have made the diagnosis that they have made.

Your Legal Options

If you are injured by a medical misdiagnosis, you may be entitled to financial compensation in order to help you deal with your injuries and to compensate you for your pain and suffering. Your best bet is to contact a qualified personal injury lawyer in order to determine what sort of case you may have.

If you are in the New Jersey area, consider reaching out to RAM Law. With decades of experience in the area of personal injury and medical malpractice law, we can help protect you and make sure that you are treated fairly by the court system. Don’t wait – visit our website or call us today at 732-247-3600.