She Was Misdiagnosed With Schizophrenia, But It Turns Out She Was Having Seizures
Imagine describing vivid hallucinations to a doctor and being told that you’re just being dramatic. Jessica Lowe (@doctorbrainbarbie) is a neurologist and epileptologist, and she’s discussing the concept of medical gaslighting.
Typically, female patients experience this the most. They repeatedly have their symptoms dismissed, only for their issues to turn out to be something serious.
Several years ago, Jessica saw a young lady whose antipsychotic medications were not working. She was taking antipsychotics for olfactory and gustatory hallucinations, which meant she was smelling and tasting things that weren’t there.
She experienced these hallucinations multiple times a day for over a year.
Throughout the course of this year, she had been to see a number of different physicians to figure out what was wrong.
Initially, she was told that her symptoms were a silent migraine, and she was treated for that. But, of course, her symptoms did not improve.
She was then told that she had anxiety. The doctors treated her anxiety, but her symptoms still did not get better.
Then, she was told that she was faking the symptoms, so she was sent to see a psychiatrist. She was put on antipsychotics for presumed schizophrenia. The antipsychotics didn’t work, so they finally sent her to Jessica.
Within five minutes of conversation, Jessica determined that the woman was likely having seizures. She ordered some tests and decided to put the woman on seizure medications.
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Immediately, the symptoms stopped. The tests also showed a cavernoma in her brain, which is an abnormal tangle of blood vessels.
“This could’ve ended in disaster. Had this progressed to a convulsive seizure while she was in a dangerous situation, in a bathtub, at the top of the stairs, standing over a stove, driving, she could have killed herself and injured other people,” Jessica pointed out.
She also urged doctors to believe their female patients when they feel that something is wrong. Even if a woman has a pre-existing psychiatric condition, that does not mean other medical emergencies cannot happen.
In the comments section, many TikTok users did not hold back. They shared their own horror stories of misdiagnosis and dismissal.
“My friend has been dripping from her nose for four years and was dismissed by so many doctors. Saw one ENT who diagnosed a CSF leak in 10 minutes. She was so relieved and thanked him for diagnosing so quickly. He said, ‘Well, it’s a pretty textbook case,'” commented one user.
“My male doctor tried to tell me that my epilepsy was caused by me not being able to breathe right because I’m overweight. I started having seizures at 10 and was diagnosed at 12,” stated another.
“Dismissed my complaints for over two years! Massive amounts of pain for years! Finally insisted on an MRI. They had me in for surgery an hour later! Why must I fight for care???? exclaimed a third.
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