Someone please slap my GP?

[yassmin]

Went to see the doctor to review some longstanding health issues now I'm seeing them in a different light...

IBS/food allergies - I'd asked to be referred to a dietitian about a year ago and didn't ever hear back:
GP: "You didn't reply to the letter, so you’ll have to go back on the waiting list"
Really. Cos' I'd do that, waste my time fighting for a referral and then not bother replying. That note must have been on my file the last dozen times I've been in - and they couldn't mention to me that the dietitian had been trying to get in touch?

PCOS - just checking if there's anything I should be doing since lots of reputable literature suggests there's a higher chance of miscarriage, yes?
GP: "stay off the internet"

HMS (hypermobility) - known to cause problems with local anaesthetics and epidurals, never mind the joint pain, which is rough enough even before I’m carrying extra, unbalanced pounds.
GP: "no really, stay off the internet"

How is that a useful consultation? Even if I am being overly cautious, could she not acknowledge my fears rather than going straight to patronising?



Someone tell me I'm not just being hormonal and unreasonable?
(Or y'know, tell me that I am )

 

[Kittee]

Its not patronizing. It's true. Stay off the internet.

Maybe get a copy of what to expect when expecting or something and try to relax.

 

[jett]

I do think they could have given you a few facts to ease your mind I mean as a doctor should they not try to give you information, and then told you looking everything up's just going to make you worry more.

sound almost as good as my old GP who thought fruit cures everything. lol

and Kittee wheres my tea?

 

[Kittee]

LOL What kind do you prefer? I have peppermint, licorice, regular lipton, decaf lipton, milk tea, oolong tea...

 

[jett]

LOL What kind do you prefer? I have peppermint, licorice, regular lipton, decaf lipton, milk tea, oolong tea...

I get Typhoo decaf, from world market. It's the only thing closed to a good cup of decaf over this side of the pond. Before I went decaf twinings breakfast tea was good enough, milk no sugar please

 

[Lesli45]

I work in a hospital (I work for 2 specialists) so I'm surrounded by doctors and I know it irks them when their patients come in with questions from something they found while on "the net". I understand that in today's health care (I live in Canada) that taking time for patients concerns/questions means less time with the next patient which = less money, but I think it's sad that they don't address these concerns...even if it be with a quick one sentence answer (other than "don't surf the net"). Not only do I surf the net (which can cause unneccessary worry, sometimes, I'm well aware) but I also back it up by looking in medical journals or reading abstracts. It seems unless they are hearing it from their peers that they seem less than concerned. This continues to blow my mind as I've been misdiagnosed twice in the past 6 years.

I had a hugely frustrating experience with my first pregnancy. I had really bad bleeding and went into the ER. After waiting for 8 hours with no food and in a great deal of discomfort, I finally saw the on-call Dr. who did a quick internal and said if you are going to miscarry, then there is nothing you can do. Bam! Great bedside manner. Anyways, I called my OB the next day and he said the exact same thing. So...I was lucky enough to find a friend who had the name of a specialist, an older gentleman, probably in his 70s, and he put me on progesterone and bedrest for 5 weeks. The bleeding stopped. He saw me weekly during the bleeding for heart beat checks. I still don't know to this day if it was because of him that my pregnancy was successful but I will forever be grateful for his sensitivity and phenomenal bedside manner. That alone I'm certain did wonders. I wish there were more old school doctors like that nowadays. Sorry, off on a rant lol...

PS Btw, I in no way wish to put down today's doctors at all. I'm merely going on my own personal experiences (and those of a few friends of mine). I work with some outstanding specialists but I can definitely attest to the fact that they all aren't like that....

 

[yassmin]

Thank you Lesli45!

That's my point exactly - for the record, I wasn't just regurgitating stuff I'd found on the net, but since it was from healthcare providers outside of the NHS (and therefore not on my formal notes) she made the assumption and went for the easy (and hurtful) one-line get-out rather than making any attempt to explain why I should or should not be concerned.
For a living, I teach (amongst other things) how to judge the quality of online information, so even if it had all been from the net, it'd be the same as you - respected peer-reviewed journals, carefully weighed up.

I'm so glad you found a doctor who treated you properly and had a happy outcome.

And as you say, I wouldn't want to imply all doctors are the same - I had an amazing GP until I moved house recently, I'm just gutted I haven't found one in this area who will at least listen.

 

[inperfected]

"You should just get off the internet"

(Yeah right!) To be honest, the internet is why I don't ring my doctor 5x a week with new "issues"

I self diagnosed myself with endometriosis, PCOS, and gluten intolerance, and all have since been backed up by medical testing - never mind a friend with a rare genetic disorder that affects 1 in 1000 people (also been backed up medically). I don't listen when they tell me to get off the internet - the internet is the whole reason I'm actually pregnant!

Good on you for listening to your body and you conditions and then researching about it.

 

[Lesli45]

You're welcome, Yassmin I really hope you find a GP who you are happy with and will give you the time of day. Especially being pregnant, there are so many questions we all have and we just want to make sure we are doing the best we can to have a healthy baby...

I think there are some major sensitivity issues out there with some doctors. Perhaps, it's because they are overworked and/or pushed too hard to see so many patients? Another story (sorry, I'm chatty today lol). My brother was diagnosed a few months ago with MS He is lucky enough to be seeing a very well known MS specialist in our area. When my brother inquired about one of the latest treatments that still hasn't been approved in Canada but is available elsewhere in the world, the specialist just told him it was a load of bull. No explanation, that was simply his answer. My brother and fiancee were quite disappointed as they had heard this was a promising treatment that may be available at some point in time but that was all he had to say in response. Very insulting as far as I'm concerned. Anyways, I hear more and more stories like this (and have had my own experiences) and I think it's just indicative that our health care system needs a revamp or perhaps more sensitivity training needs to be implemented?...

Anyways, I hope your next appt goes better! Hoping you caught her on a bad day.