Tom KindlonMar 5, 2025

đŸ§”
"Chronic diseases misdiagnosed as psychosomatic can lead to long term damage to physical & mental wellbeing, study finds"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1074887

Research on people with autoimmune diseases but people with other conditions will sadly be able to relate

@chronicillness
@spoonies
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Chronic diseases misdiagnosed as psychosomatic can lead to long term damage to physical and mental wellbeing, study finds

A ‘chasm of misunderstanding and miscommunication’ is often experienced between clinicians and patients, leading to autoimmune diseases such as lupus and vasculitis being wrongly diagnosed as psychiatric or psychosomatic conditions, with a profound and lasting impact on patients, researchers have found. A study involving over 3,000 participants – both patients and clinicians – found that these misdiagnoses (sometimes termed “in your head” by patients) were often associated with long term impacts on patients’ physical health and wellbeing and damaged trust in healthcare services.

EurekAlert!
Show threadTom Kindlon

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â€Ș“A study involving over 3,000 participants – both patients & clinicians – found that these misdiagnoses (sometimes termed “in your head” by patients) were often associated with long term impacts on patients’ physical health & wellbeing and damaged trust in healthcare services”‬

@chronicillness @spoonies @lupus @mecfs @fibromyalgia

Mar 5, 2025 at 4:20pmWeb
Show threadTom KindlonMar 5, 2025

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“Patients who reported that their autoimmune disease was misdiagnosed as psychosomatic or a mental health condition were more likely to experience higher levels of depression and anxiety, and lower mental wellbeing. (contd)”

#psychologisation
@chronicillness @spoonies @lupus @mecfs @fibromyalgia

Show threadTom KindlonMar 5, 2025

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â€Ș“(Contd) For example, one patient with multiple autoimmune diseases said: “One doctor told me I was making myself feel pain and I still can’t forget those words. Telling me I’m doing it to myself has made me very anxious and depressed.”‬
@chronicillness @spoonies @lupus @mecfs @fibromyalgia

Show threadTom KindlonMar 5, 2025

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“More than 80% said it had damaged their self-worth and 72% of patients reported that the misdiagnosis still upset them, often even decades later. (contd)”

@chronicillness @spoonies @lupus @mecfs @fibromyalgia

Show threadTom KindlonMar 5, 2025

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“Misdiagnosed patients also reported lower levels of satisfaction with every aspect of medical care and were more likely to distrust doctors, downplay their symptoms, and avoid healthcare services.”

@chronicillness @spoonies @lupus @mecfs @fibromyalgia

Show threadTom KindlonMar 5, 2025

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“As one patient reported, it ‘has damaged my trust and courage in telling doctors very much. I even stopped taking my immunosuppressive medicine because of those words’”
@chronicillness @spoonies @lupus @mecfs @fibromyalgia

Show threadTom KindlonMar 5, 2025
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Following these types of misdiagnoses, patients often then blamed themselves for their condition, as one individual described: “I don’t deserve help because this is a disease I’ve brought on myself. You go back to those initial diagnosis, you’ve always got their voices in your head,saying you’re doing this to yourself. You just can’t ever shake that. I’ve tried so hard”
@chronicillness @spoonies @lupus @mecfs @fibromyalgia
Show threadTom KindlonMar 5, 2025

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"...these types of misdiagnoses can create a multitude of negative feelings and impacts on lives, self-worth and care. These appear to rarely be resolved even after the correct diagnoses..."

@chronicillness @spoonies @lupus @mecfs @fibromyalgia

Show threadTom KindlonMar 6, 2025

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Some doctors said they hadn’t really thought about the long-term problems for patients, but others talked about the problems in regaining trust, as one GP from England highlighted: “They lose trust in anything that anyone says
you are trying to convince them that something is OK, and they will say yes but a doctor before said that and was wrong.”

@chronicillness @spoonies @lupus @mecfs @fibromyalgia

Show threadTom KindlonMar 6, 2025

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“We need more clinicians to understand how a misdiagnosis of this sort can result in long-standing mental and emotional harm and in a disastrous loss of trust in doctors.”

#ChronicDisease #Hiddenillness
@chronicillness @spoonies @lupus @mecfs @fibromyalgia #chronicillness #mecfs #longcovid #invisibleillness

Show threadKlaus FrankMar 7, 2025

@tomkindlon @chronicillness @spoonies @lupus @mecfs @fibromyalgia

100% agree. At this point I give a shit on what a doctor claims as long as they're not able to provide a logical argument and evidence.
Either the evidence speaks for itself or you're just as untrustworthy as someone on twitter.

Show threadTom KindlonMar 7, 2025

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Medscape News UK

Autoimmune Disease Misdiagnoses Can Cause Long-Term Harm
Dr Sheena Meredith
March 06, 2025

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/autoimmune-disease-misdiagnoses-can-cause-long-term-harm-2025a10005ln?&icd=login_success_email_match_fpf

@chronicillness @spoonies @lupus

Autoimmune Disease Misdiagnoses Can Cause Long-Term Harm

Misdiagnosing autoimmune diseases as psychiatric conditions can lead to long-term damage to patients' health and trust in healthcare, a study found.

Medscape