I have heard so many people lately,saying going to the doctors is a waste of time,Im beginning to see why ,myself.I hate going,and only go when forced.had to take granddaughter in for an ear infection so thought i may as well go myself.Grandaughter prescribed amoxycillin,all well and good.I have had a small lump on my eyelid,told doc id been plucking up courage to go for 6months,was told to make an other appointment with one of the other doctors,as it might not be able to be removed.The other concern i had was that Ive recently discovered a face cream Ive used for 12 years,contains mercury,0.37 percent(doesnt say it on the packaging)I was basically brushed off with-"come back if you get any symptoms".Maybe Im being unreasonable,its rare I go,anyway,It seemed everything I asked was"I dont know"Wish Id not bothered,sorry for the rant.

>It seemed everything I asked was"I dont know"

A general practioner can't know everything and it's good when they don't pretend they do.  Why don't you do as they suggest, make an appointment for yourself and they will probably refer you on to a specialist.  I doubt you will stop worry until you do.

Different GP's specialise in different things, so if you were given another doctors name it could be that they know more about it than the one you saw. When my daughter was growing up there was a GP who was more into childhood illnesses, so obviously we went to see him rather than the one she was registered with. Another one was better with older people, so all the old folk went to see him. It just could be that the original GP you saw knew that another GP knows a bit more than them, so make that other appointment.

My GP will only discuss the one problem so as not to overrun your alotted time,but is still always running late and keeps you waiting long past the appointment time before seeing you,but always takes my problems seriously,as I do not see him very often."Come back if you get worse,"seems to be a good cost cutting,time saver with some of his partners though.

I had a lump on my eyelid, close to the lash line.  It was a build up of tears and oil underneath the skin, that went through the lashes up into the folicle.  Try using a hot compress and massaging the eye.  It worked for me (took about a month).  Apparently it is really common, and happens to women a lot because of eye makeup.  HTH. 

I am 'now' getting a fairly decent 'service' out of my Dr..

However to get this I have to (or at least I feel as if i have to, and the evidence suggests I am right), phone him pretty much monthly. I also have his email address but that took a LOT of buttering up to achieve and to be fair to him hes pretty prompt at responding (but only within office hours obviously)..

Prior to getting VERY assertive (for me verging on bullying really), I was seeing him for two and a half years, with him giving me diuretics and saying 'oh well it will go away soon'.

Yep he did some blood tests but just routine bog standard ones.

Given my symptoms...
Water retention.
Wheezing/rattling when lying down
Coughing up stuff but no chest infection
Fatigue
Serious inability to do any exercise
Racing heart
Breathlessness when sat doing nothing..

What would be top of your list? If that was say, your dog.. (because at the time it was also my dogs symptoms!).

I even suggested the potential problem to him, whereupon he pretty much laughed in my face and told me I was reading too much on teh internet! I finally got a referral to an endocrinologist who within five seconds diagnosed the problem and referred me to the right person.

I won;'t put the condition I have down - lets see who guesses right first (I bet it wont take anyone on here two and a half years!)

Sounds like a kidney or heart problem to me? I'm no doctor though, lol!

My doctor was very good with my eyelid lump, a stye which had unusually refused to go away, prescribed the hot water massage and when that didn't work referred me to hospital to get it removed. I have to warn you though, having your eyelid turned inside out, clamped and then a lump hacked off it is probably the worst pain (never had children though!!!!) I have yet been through, even with a local anaesthetic!

Emphazema(sp) or some similar asthmatic condition?  Or maybe Angina?
Sorry, have no idea of your age so I apologise if I have just aged you by 30 years!!

> I even suggested the potential problem to him, whereupon he pretty much laughed in my face and told me I was reading too much on teh internet! I finally got a referral to an endocrinologist who within five seconds diagnosed the problem and referred me to the right person.

Snap!  I have a thread in idle chat just like this.  I have what I believe is a major vitamin D and/or possibly magnesium deficiency - all the symptoms fit (bone pain in various places mainly), I am a prime candidate for vit D deficiency, yet when I've mentioned it I've been laughed at and fobbed off.

They've run all the routine tests, I've had an ECG whic was perfect than because they still hadn't got an answer, I had another ECG while doing a stress test (I'd already told them that exercise makes no difference whatsoever).

Now at the point of telling them to test me or I'll be moving practises - I've lost two days to pain yesterday and most of thursday, the dogs didn't go out either day because when my ribs get bad it just wipes me out and I can't do a thing.  Absolutely sick of it and the docs just keep scoffing at me!

thanks crespin,i will try that!

I certainly hope you are feeling much better,theemx,that mustve been seriously agravating.To be fair,the doctor I saw looked hardly out of nappies(like policemen-they look younger the older you get!)but why couldnt she tell me the symptoms of mercury poisoning,or suggest I try a hot compress on my lump?This happens to me all the time,I hate going,so when I do finally go,I walk out feeling"why do I bother!"mad with myself.I even manage my eczema myself,because Ive never yet been given treatment that helped(not their fault,at least they tried)Was it a heart problem you had?Had a dog with similar symptoms,well,the cough,panting ,fluid retention,and lack of energy.Hope youre better!

Hi crespin! how many times a day do you have to do it,please?

Yes,lucydogs,when it first appeared I tried squeezing it.OW!

Nikita,that must be so awful!I suppose you are taking supplements?I wonder if you tried alternative medicine,maybe see a naturopath or some other holistic bod?I would myself by preference,but Ive rarely been able to afford it.When I have,though,its been lovely,they can answer all your questions,which is a refreshing change from the brick wall"I dont know"Good luck!

Once in the morning and once at night.  Put it in your getting ready and going to bed routine :) HTH

will do!Thankyou!

That sounds like a heart problem to me, though I'm certainly no doctor!

LucyDogs/Paula - yep, bingo, go to the top of the class.

I have a grade 4 mitral valve regurge - so my hearts not working well, im not getting the blood flow i should and its backing up into my lungs hence the breathing issues and the water retention. The endo picked it up the second he listened to my heart. My GP has never done that, not even after a chest xray (somethin ELSE i had to nag for) s howed a slight enlargement of my heart.

Im coming HERE with the next health problem! (Im only half joking too!).

Nikita - vit D and magnesium and also b12 deficiencies verrrrrrry common - and certainly the b12 and mag. can show up as 'normal' (ill go into that in a mo) on a blood test so the dr say 'go away'.

The good news is unless you have digestive problems and are not producing certain things (im not) you can take b12 sublingually, and if you don't need it it wont do any harm (pee it out again), you can supplement vit D yourself too, and magnesium. So if the Drs wont listen, try it and see what happens! You really won't OD on any of those taken orally and there is plenty of advice on the net about supplementing properly with those.

I take B12 by IM injection every fifth day and whaddya know, the visual migraines I was having bi-weekly have gone away, as have some of the tingling/pins and needles/numbness. I think Magnesium is the other 'key' to this particular problem (I already know im not absorbing oral b12 so it makes sense im not doing hte same with mag.)

Blood tests and 'normal' - when you get a test the dr checks it against a reference range. If you fall within that range they will say 'you are normal' (most will anyway) but that may not be the case for a variety of reasons. One being you can have stuff circling in your blood stream but not be using it. Another being that you might be at the very extreme ends of the reference range and that result isnt normal for you. Make a habit of asking drs what the ref. range is for the tests they are running on you!

Oh now that's interesting re. visual migraines.  I get these 2/3 times a year - never any distinct trigger for them, they just started in '05 for no reason.  Intriguing!

I'm taking supplements - I forgot to take them for most of the last week and lo and behold, I've been suffering for the last two days.  Tried B complex and as you say, peed it straight out again so I'm assuming I'm ok for those lol!  And that's despite having digestive problems - IBS and  a general struggling to digest things properly (results in food sitting in my stomach for ages and triggering reflux.

The docs always say I'm 'normal' on any tests - freewayz mentioned thyroid as a possible cause on my idle thread earlier and with a family history of hypothyroidism, I'll be questioning that range on monday when I go back to badger - er, talk to! :p - my GP again.

As a Cavalier owner I should have been a bit more certain about the heart versus kidney problem - but so far I've only had one go that way, that's my excuse! Hope the treatment is keeping you healthy. :-)

I've had visual migraines from time to time for the last nearly 40 years! A couple of years ago they became much more frequent. At my routine dental check-up my dentist discovered some infection in the root of a crowned tooth, which had to be removed...:-(. However, the visual migraines became much less frequent when it had gone. :-)
The human body is very complex.....

theemx - I have B12 injections every 12 weeks, taking it orally does not work with my condition.  I honestly feel that every 12 weeks isn't enough, and have asked for them more frequently, but get refused.

How do you get them to give you B12 every 5th day?  I'm only asking for it every 8 weeks.

I said I noticed an immediate difference in my symptoms, pointed out that using hydroxocobalamin there was no chance of me doing myself any harm iwth it, and couldnt I have it as my symptoms dictated?

Which of course prompted the 'but you'd have to make several appointments a week/month for that and that would be hard to do as your symptoms decreed.. '

'Ah.. but is there any reason I can't be shown how to do the injections myself....'

Of course they couldnt come up with one (though the nurses tried!) so there we go!

However having a GP who missed a severe heart problem, and having NOT kicked up a huge fuss, I now have a VERY attentive GP (hence I can also email him stuff instead of having to make an appointment).

There is quite a difference between oral and sublingual b12 though, but I think you would have to buy the sublingual from overseas as you can't get it here (no bad reason why not, theres just no call for it). You let that sit under your tongue and it gets into your blood stream that way as, for many of us, through the stomach/digestive system it just doesnt work. It is I believe MORE effective that way than via injection, but as I say you have to buy it overseas and I;m skint, the jabs i get on the nhs!

Thanks for that.  Mine is because my bone marrow doesn't release thousands of new blood cells daily, to send oxygen round my body (hence the constant exhaustion.)

I have researched, and it appears that, if I lived in the US, then I would get the jab as often as I needed it.  Evidently, over here, the docs are told treatment is every 12 weeks, and that is exactly what they spout when I ask.

If I'm honest, I guess I have always thought that it's down to cost.

LOL so it isn't just me then--I hardly ever go and lately the doctors I've seen appear to have retired en masse!

After a bad weekend with neuralgia I decided to brave the local surgery and to my astonishment even got an appointment with "the duty doctor" the following day...he's a lovely man, but you wouldn't want to rely on him in a crisis since he resolutely refuses to examine any part of any patient up close. He shone a torch at my open mouth from a distance of three feet away, decided there was no sign of infection and therefore perhaps I should call on my dentist for help.

I'm reminded of a story my midwife told me 20 years ago which may partly explain his attitude --this man has been there a long time and is famous for his extreme reticence (how he had 6 children none of us know). My midwife is conservatively described as a buxom woman, and when her last child was born she developed mastitis. It got so painful that she told me she ran into this doctor's surgery one lunchtime in agony, ripped open her blouse and bra and said "Doctor, you must just take a look at this!" According to her he turned white as a sheet and ran out of the room like the hounds of hell were after him.

you can get sublingual b12 here.,Ive got some!twas from simply supplements,or healthspan,will check and get back.

natures best sell it,as do lifeplan,if you google sublingual b12 uk,there are several,Cant find it in ss,or healthspan now.though Im sure I got it from there!

Im really sorry my Dr is great, my Mum's whislt she was alive was c--p and caused her much suffering.
It seems to me to be pot luck now a days, when my Sam was young - he has asthma ect I took him as an emergancy to one Dr and she implied I was wasting time, next day I saw my Dr and he had pnumonia!!!!!! (Sam not the Dr).

Its very frustrating, Im a bit fed up with being told its my age, but with my OH he sent him for loads of tests for a lump (testicular) and it was ok so I cant fault him.

Ive finally admitted after 3 years Im a codine addict, so Im feeling a bit achey and ill and Im coming off painkillers - its not easy but my Dr could not be more help!

Can you transfer within the practice to a more sympathetic one? what you MUST NOT DO is stop going, they are paid to look after you, so dont stop going will you.

HUGS from Me

Viv
X

Ditto you can in Boots buy an eye care kit its a wash and tissues and it will clear in time just persevere.

Ok, I'm going to ask a really stupid question (and it's not the first time!), but, if you're not happy with your doctor and the service they do (or don't) provide, then why not move to another one?  Maybe one that someone you know can recommend.

I feel my husband's doctors surgery are absolutely rubbish and offer no level of service at all.  I am insisting that after he gets his recent problem sorted that he moves to mine, where, if urgent, you can always be seen or, if thought appropriate you can get a telephone consultation.  I really feel the doctors in my surgery go above and beyond the call of duty at times.

> Ok, I'm going to ask a really stupid question (and it's not the first time!), but, if you're not happy with your doctor and the service they do (or don't) provide, then why not move to another one? 

In some rural areas that's easier said than done though. especially if you aren't happy with any of the doctors in the practice. We only really have the choice of one practice where I live and I see one of the doctors for all of my 'ongoing' issues as he usually understands and takes time to listen but if it is for anything else I take an appointment with any of them. We have to make a double appointment if you want to discuss more than one problem though.

> We have to make a double appointment if you want to discuss more than one problem though

Which, of course, is only fair for the other people waiting for their appointment.

Know the feeling we are rural and have one Dr that is "ours" if we go to another one you get that "you should have gone to your own Dr approach" however we do get the ok for ladies with ladies bits to see a female Dr on ladies problems - I still get embarrassed about some things.

The next Dr to us then would be central Winchester and try parking there! Where Dad lives he would have to travel miles to see a Dr he is rural as well, not much choice in the "sticks" In fact no direct bus service to the hospital either.

Hi Jean

take a look here, there are lots who need more regular injections

I found a dr through them that allows me to inject whenever i feel the need, they will also give you plenty of advise on there if you join or if you pm me i can send you info
http://www.pernicious-anaemia-society.org/phpbb/

Mbro :)

Hi
Thanks for the post.  I haven't joined the forum. My doc makes it clear that the surgery can't spend money on "extras"  I did ask the nurse on my last jab, and she agreed that a lot of folk ask for them more often, but it's not surgery policy!

Where would I go, and do you actually buy more medication?

Jean

Thankyou,viv,Il have a look at those packs-Im currently scalding the blinking thing every morning and night,no trouble really and well worth it if it works!I hope youre feeling a bit better now,by the way.Youre allowed to see any doctor at my practice,you can ask for a specific one when you book your appointment,if you dont ask,you just get whoevers available.When a new doctor started,everyone suddenly wantd to see him as he seemed pretty good.I didnt ask and got this very nice young lady doctor,but Il make sure I dont next time.Felt I may as well have had a consultation with one of my cats!      oh yes,another thing-I have a problem with my feet(as well!)and need a cream that was originally prescribed by a dermatologist at queens med,since then I have to get it from my gp-was called in to say I cant have it any more as it costs 250 quid!!!Its only soft parrafin wax and salicylic acid!But "its not the cream"apparently,but because it has to be sent away to be mixed!Mad!

>Its only soft parrafin wax and salicylic acid!

That sounds rather like Whitfield's Ointment, except that has benzoic acid as well.

oh,thanks,will have a look at that!

Hi jean

If you phone Martyn at PAS on 01656 769717.which would be quicker than emailing him on chair@pasoc.org.uk, he could advise you on doctors, there is a doctor that he uses & Martyn currently injects everyday Methycobalamin by subcut injection which is less painfull than the IM ones we have, the dr in question also does Infusions of b12 which a lot of patients have had very good recovery from these
i currently use another dr & i have uses Cyno B12 & methy B12 which are don Sub Cut again , i had to find a nurse to learn me how to inject, which lucky for me a freind in my ringcraft is a nurse (this is how i found out a lot about the b12 saga) & a nurse in my new drs practice also taught me, honestly this was the best thin i ever done ,less painfull  than the nurse as your in control & able to inject when you need to, total control back over my life :)
The cyno which is what they use in america costs me about £20 i would have to dig out an invoice for a 30 ml bottle , thats 30 jabs
The methyl is about £50 a 10ml bottle, whichs used in japan but this would last you about a 100 jabs as you inject less as this is the pure for of B12 & is stronger dosage
I'll send you a pm with some info so im not hogging the thread :)