'AITA for filing a complaint against a doctor at the ER? She told me my symptoms were from postpartum.'

"AITA for filing a complaint against an attending doctor at the ER because she told me all my symptoms were due to postpartum depression?"

Hi everyone. I (29F) gave birth last week to a beautiful baby. Labor and pregnancy were both uncomplicated, but postpartum has not been as smooth.

My feet, legs, and hands became extremely swollen to the point that I lost sensation in my feet, making walking feel strange—like when your legs fall asleep. I also had a persistent headache, which I attributed to sleep deprivation from caring for the baby. Additionally, I experienced brain zaps, though the headache itself wasn’t severe. I had no vision changes.

On Sunday, I decided to check my blood pressure, and it was 137/92. The next morning, it had risen to 154/117. Concerned, I messaged my OB, as the hospital had warned me about postpartum preeclampsia. He told me to go back to the hospital to get checked and rule out hypertension. When I arrived at the ER, they seemed unsure of what to do.

My blood pressure was 140/94 at intake, and after some confusion, they sent me to labor and delivery. I stayed there for about an hour, during which my blood pressure decreased. When the attending doctor arrived, she immediately dismissed my concerns, saying, “Oh, it’s going down. This is normal. The swelling is normal.”

The nurse reviewed my medications and mentioned Zoloft, which I had taken a year ago for anxiety but had stopped under my therapist’s guidance because I was doing well. The doctor fixated on this, insisting that I had postpartum depression and questioning why I wasn’t on Zoloft. I explained that I wasn’t experiencing depression, but she continued pushing the idea.

She also questioned how old my blood pressure machine was, suggesting that it was inaccurate. When I said it was fairly new, she asked why I even owned one. I was stunned—doesn’t everyone have a blood pressure monitor as part of a basic first aid kit? She then accused me of buying the machine just to have something to worry about and claimed my high readings were due to my own anticipation.

She insisted that I was fine and needed to get back on antidepressants. She was almost yelling at me, making me feel humiliated and dismissed. They never conducted a urine or blood test. When I requested them, she refused, saying they weren’t necessary because my blood pressure had gone down while I was there.

I reminded her that my initial reading upon arrival was 140/94, but she dismissed it, saying it didn’t count because I had “just been outside,” implying that being outside had triggered my high reading. Seeing my frustration, she reluctantly offered to let me stay another hour for continued blood pressure monitoring but again insisted that I was fine.

I said I wanted to stay and have a urine test done, but she refused, saying it wasn’t necessary. She then lectured me again about antidepressants and finally said, “Fine, we can test you if you want, but you’re fine—this is normal.” At that point, I didn’t want to be there anymore, so I left.

I called my OB and told him what happened. He urged me to go back because my blood pressure was dangerously high. I told him I’d go to another ER. At first, I hesitated, starting to believe that maybe it was all in my head and that I would get better on my own. But then I thought—what if it wasn’t?

The next morning, I drove half an hour to a public hospital ER, and from the moment I arrived, they treated me with care and took my symptoms seriously. They immediately ran blood and urine tests. The results showed excessive protein in my urine, along with liver and kidney dysfunction. When I arrived, my blood pressure was 166/120.

That night, I was furious. I could have died. If I hadn’t gone to the second ER, I might not have been able to watch my baby grow, all because one doctor dismissed my symptoms as “in my head.” I wrote a detailed email to the hospital director about my experience, and the next morning, I received a call informing me that they had filed a formal complaint.

Some friends think I overreacted, saying my complaint won’t change anything and that it was a waste of time. Others support me, arguing that too many women die from being dismissed like this. So, did I go too far?