Not a doctor, sorry, but a patient. I've had the same doctor since I was born, and I was going into her office 3-4 times a month for 2 YEARS and then a few times every couple months for 2 MORE YEARS complaining about pain in my bladder and urethra. She always did cultures, most of the time they were negative, and she started to get pissed off at me. I realized that drinking a bunch of water helped me feel better so I started to self-medicate with that instead of going to her. (Towards the end, the urine cultures were always negative, so I wasn't in danger by not seeking antibiotics or anything.) After doing a ton of research, I decided I had Interstitial Cystitis. I started to follow a treatment plan for the condition (mostly lifestyle and diet changes) and my pain started to disappear! One day it got bad again, and I didn't want to see my regular doctor and get the same old "I don't know what's wrong with you" speech, so I made an appointment with another doctor in the same office. She diagnosed me with IC right there. I've since been following the treatment plan diligently, gotten a few tests to rule out other possibilities, and I'm feeling better 95% of the time now.

4 fucking years and my doctor never consulted this woman (who worked in the same small building) or got a second opinion or anything. She just sent me home every time when she could have simply gotten a second opinion or referred me to someone else. I suffered through what felt like a lifetime without an effective treatment plan because of that.