Hi Reddit Community,

I’m feeling quite overwhelmed by the healthcare challenges we’re currently facing and am looking for advice or to hear from others who may have gone through something similar.

Here’s what’s happening: My wife has been dealing with severe flank pain and fever. After five doctor visits and despite us paying €400 a month for health insurance here in Germany, she hasn’t been given blood tests or antibiotics. The suspicion from our general visits was pyelonephritis or kidney inflammation.

An urologist, who has been advising us remotely, and another doctor from Turkey have both expressed that normally, blood tests should be performed, and antibiotics should be administered for such symptoms. Also a doctor from “vertreter” klinik has expressed the same, (which we went during our Hausarzt was closed). However, for reasons we can’t understand, this hasn’t been the case for us.

Has anyone experienced a similar lack of response from their healthcare provider, especially when dealing with potential kidney issues? How did you manage to get the appropriate tests and treatment? Any advice on how to push for more immediate action?

Thank you all for any advice or shared experiences you can provide. It’s tough seeing a loved one in pain and not getting the help they need.

—

It’s been weeks of doctor visits with no progress. Every specialist we see sends us back to our Hausarzt, who then only suggests cranberry juice for my wife’s severe flank pain and fever—no blood tests, no ultrasound, no antibiotics, despite remote consultations suggesting these should be standard for her symptoms.

Here’s a urine test from our first doctor visit (not Hausarzt, they were closed at that time). But they suggested us making a blood test (which wasn’t available on their clinic)
[https://i.imgur.com/pQdgITq.png](https://i.imgur.com/pQdgITq.png)

by Familiar-Swordfish85

12 comments

  1. Go to the hospital instead of some random Hausarzt. You are also allowed to change your Hausarzt at any time.

  2. You can consult as many doctors as you like. If you do so, you will realize, that some are not so good then others.

  3. So what did your Hausarzt diagnose instead and what did they suggest you do?

  4. You definitely should see another doctor. Also it’s weird that in the picture you’ve linked the diagnosis is related to thoracic vertebrae rather than kidneys.

  5. Hard to tell from afar – as you have stated correctly, fever + serious flank pain warrants work-up for pyelonephritis or related kidney disorders, that would be bloodwork (WBC, CRP etc., possibly cultures), urine dipstick and cultures and sonography of the kidneys.

    The fact that several doctors you have seen have not initiated these leaves two options:

    a) The doctors are seriously failing in their duty of care to your wife.

    b) Your wife’s clinical presentation does not actually square with what you report, e.g. she states fever and serious flank pain, but upon examination has no elevated temperature, does not jump off the stretcher when renal angle is percussed, and her general presentation doesn’t appear very ‘sick’. *’Weeks of doctor visits’* also doesn’t scream pyelonephritis, which is usually acute and can be life threatening.

    **Either way, if outpatient visits lead you nowhere, head to the next emergency room.**

  6. First thing I would suggest is you go to the next pharmacy and buy “Combur Test”, looks like [this](https://www.shop-apotheke.com/arzneimittel/838594/combur-5-test-hc-teststreifen.htm?offerId=46899270&expa=gglp&adword=google-mp-product/S_COM_MP_CSS_PMAX_All_Products//00838594_2513&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2drI2_TkhAMVXJWDBx1BHAEfEAQYASABEgJ38fD_BwE). Also get some clean one time use cups!

    This is a pee test for infections that can be seen in urine. There are instructions in different languages inside. But the most important part: Have your phone clock with seconds on! Put the phone where you can see it. The test is quite sensitive so she should wash her hands after the phone setting but before the test. Do not touch the inside of the cup. She pees into the cup. Again hand washing afterwards. Then carefully pull out a test stripe. They are upside down to prevent people from touching the test area! Dip the strip into the urine so all test areas are covered. Now pull out this is not meant to take longer than 3 seconds. Now 60sec wait. You can see at the package how it should look like and how the color changes if something is not right. Leukozyten (LEU) takes 120 seconds! So if something seems not right take a photo after that 120 seconds next to the package with the color matches. Very important: If she has her period or just had and still has some blood stains the Protein area will react! That does not mean something, you cannot get accurate Protein results with an urine test during/right after period.

    This is normally done when one suspects a bladder infection (which can later cause kidney infections) but it can also be done to monitore symptoms. The test is not too expensive and I suggest every women to have them at home.

  7. Unfortunately, it is very common for women’s pain and symptoms to be dismissed.

    Stay persistent! Be firm! And possibly look for another doctor.

    Also, tell your wife to not wear any makeup at all for the appointments. Especially male doctors are so bad at telling that a woman is really unwell, but covering it up with makeup.

    When I was feeling very unwell in 2018 I went to my Hausarzt every week saying “but I’m still unwell” and simply got on her nerves enough to get sent to a rheumatologist (who then diagnosed my with an autoimmune disorder).

    When I was dismissed at a doctor’s office a year ago and he wanted to prescribe me over the counter medication for diarrhea, I said I don’t want it. Diarrhea was not my issue, my bloated stomach, pain, nauseau and inability to eat anything was way more concerning. And only then did he order blood tests.

    With my rheumatologist I once had to repeat 4 times in a single conversation “but I am still in pain” until she acknowledged it.

    Good luck!

  11. Be aggressive. Sadly that’s the only way I could find. Hint that you might sue if this leads to serious issues (you probably would anyway). I am sorry to say that doctors can be a bit dismissive, especially if your german is not that good. This “natural” healing thing they want to purse is nice but some of the doctors are really incompetent and can’t distinguish the real issues.

    One more thing. Call 116117. They can guide you.

  12. Look for an expat medic. German doctors try to cure everything with tea or ibuprofen.

    Source, I’ve got an infection and the medics didn’t want to prescribe me an antibiotic, but we pressed. We know that it was an infection from my symptoms and from the advice of 3 medics (they were overseas)

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