I had problems with my vision not long after an eye operation so rang the eye department. While I was speaking to doctor there I became aphasic- I knew what I wanted to say but the words came out wrong. She advised me to ring 999 as she thought I was having a stroke. By the time I'd spoken to the first responder and the ambulance crew and been seen at the hospital 4 hours later, I could speak more or less normally. I was asked if I'd had problems with my speech before and I said only during a MS relapse, but that had been different. I should have been referred to the stroke department but it was presumed to be MS related and my GP marked the letter from the hospital explaining the visit to A & E 'NFA'. I mentioned the incident to my MS consultant on my next visit and, 3 months after the stroke, I finally got sent to the right department, only to find out what steps would have been taken had I been referred immediately but were no longer possible. Apparently some additional training has been given to prevent this sort of thing happening again!

This episode was so affirming to listen to! Thanks to all the guests for sharing their experiences, there’s a weird comfort in knowing you’re not alone in experiencing medical gaslighting (and it’s so validating to be reminded again that it’s not all in my head!).