grrrr doctors grrr

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grrrrr….I went to the doctors today for a number of things and I swear my doctors are so crap :mad: …I explained that I am so tired at the moment and can sleep up to 16 hours straight if not disturbed, I also said that I have occasional heart palpitations recently, periods are totally irregular, I am having irritable bowels and getting very bloated and I am experiencing dizzy weird spells :sick: , and the doctor was just trying to placate me and tell me ill be fine and not to worry and said he didn’t really think there was anything to investigate. He wasn’t interested in asking me any further questions, I had to practically hold him down to explain about my eating and exercise habits and give him more information about whats going on with me at the moment. It was like he knew he had a full waiting room so was trying to get rid of me – it wasn’t until I said I would not leave until he was willing to look into these things because none of these symptoms are usual to me so finally after bursting into tears out of frustration and pleading with him for 20 mins he agreed to get my blood work done and go from there :cry: :cry: . I am so frustrated…if our doctors aren’t going to take us seriously then what are they there for?? Im frustrated because im living in the UK and in Australia where im from im used to my doctor who is so thorough and genuine, and over here they treat you like crap, and there are no other doctors in my area accepting new patients so im stuck with this one. Anyhow…. blood test tomorrow…fingers crossed that nothing much is wrong, but that we can uncover why im so tired and feeling weird lately and that maybe it is a case of a simple deficiency or something….grrrrrrrrrrr

xx PINK

Replies

  • foxyforce
    foxyforce Posts: 3,078 Member
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    that is EXACTLY what happened with my dads doctor, completely brushing off in style. and for so long he tried to get my dad to quit smoking...and my dad didnt want to. but when my dad wanted to lose weight, hes like 'healthy diet, regular exercise' duh, everyone knows that, but it can be so much more complicated. my dad, on his own, lost 60 lbs from just going to the gym. he isnt totally UNHEALTHY, but he does have bad habits that i picked up from him, like eating too many chips! but he went back to the doctor and he didn't even say ANYTHING. so now hes looking for a new doctor.

    at the start of your post im like 'she must be from canada', is your health care free in the uk? i thought that might be a correlation, but i could be wrong.

    anyway hunny, look for a new doctor in the mean time, you don't need that bs!
  • zebras
    zebras Posts: 600
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    I hope the doctor is checking your Thyroid. When my problems started I would get my period for weeks on end, slept all the time including at my desk at work. Couldn't walk to the mailroom without getting exhausted etc. etc.
  • foxyforce
    foxyforce Posts: 3,078 Member
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    oh and...i know the blood work will show. but i find that b12 really helps with being tired all the time.

    and when i am consistent with exercise and eating after falling off the weekend my TOM usually gets pushed a week or two around.
  • pinksultana
    pinksultana Posts: 162 Member
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    yeah doctors in UK are free. I would consider going private for sake of mind, but I dont even know if they have private practice GPs over here.
  • jb_sweet_99
    jb_sweet_99 Posts: 856 Member
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    That is so frustrating Pink! I feel your pain, I know I have a back issue and my massage therapist has agreed yet the doctor has said that there is nothing wrong and won't do more tests (He'd done an x-ray when I need an MRI because it is muscular). I can be so frustrating when you are trying to take control of your health and become healthier when the doctor is not willing to help. Do you guys have walk in clinics in the UK? Perhaps if the doctor you go to is like this you could go to a walk in clinic for help instead of trying to find a new doctor. I've gotten a new doctor and am hoping for the best.
    Good luck to you, I hope everything is ok with you. At least you have insisted that he do tests and hopefully you can get things figured out from there. :flowerforyou:
  • skips09
    skips09 Posts: 7
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    The UK has both private GP practices and walk-in clinics, both of which would be worth checking out to find a doctor who really cares for you! I don't think the UK docs have much time for anyone at the mo, but maybe that's what always happens during an over-working crisis such as swine flu?? Good luck with your blood tests though, I hope you find an answer soon :) x
  • fashionfitness
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    That sounds exactly like the symptoms I had before I was diagnosed with thyroid issues. You should go straight to an endocrinologist, even if the results are normal, because certain thyroid diseases can fluctuate up and down, and you might be in the middle of one of the phases. Best of luck to you!
  • lpage
    lpage Posts: 1
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    I also have low thyroid function and was thinking the exact same thing as the previous posters...insist your thyroid levels get checked. I've been on a daily thyroid replacement horomone for 8 years now and it's amazing the difference it makes. They should be checking your levels every 3 months to make sure you're always on the right dosage!

    Good luck!
  • saretta71
    saretta71 Posts: 22
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    I hear you. I was completely depressed, put on weight and wanted to sleep all the time. Told my doctor to test me for hypothyroid. She didn't want to because I didn't have a goiter on my throat. Whatever. After much discussion she finally relented only to call me two weeks later to say I was severly hypothyroid and I needed to make an appointment with an endocronoligist right away (I had already scheduled one). The kicker was when she said that it was a good thing " WE decided to check your thyroid."

    Go to a different doctor because he is obviously not your adovocate!
  • Magenta15
    Magenta15 Posts: 850 Member
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    i hear ya - I told the doc last year after i got diagnosed with colitis that i thought maybe i had iron deficiency anemia due to all the blood i was losing daily [sorry gross i know].
    he didn't do blood work or anything he was like no you're fine and you wont be so exhausted once you get your colitis under control yada yada yada.

    anywho long story short... my colitis symptoms have been under control since last fall.... and yet i am sooooo exhausted every day normally i'm a late owl with no problems getting up but now i could sleep 10 hours or more a night and STILL can't get up in the morning, wiped by lunch time at work, and passing out when i get home from work so i finally went back to the my nurse practitioner last week for my annual and said I WANT blood tests for iron and thyroid, and guess what?? I was right a YEAR ago and am now on iron supplements... ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGG! :explode: :grumble:

    PG:flowerforyou:
  • kandyjo
    kandyjo Posts: 4,648 Member
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    Oh, wow!!! I'm sorry that you are stuck with such a crappy doctor... Makes me thankful for mine! I hope everything is fine and you have no major problems. Good luck, sweetie... Again, I'm sorry that you are having to deal with this....:flowerforyou:
  • rtmama
    rtmama Posts: 403 Member
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    Yeah, wow, so sorry it's so bad for you. Having a good doctor can make all the difference. I wish you could find a new one, but you said it's not easily possible.

    I hope this one can at least work with you to find out solutions!
    Good luck!
  • erikazj
    erikazj Posts: 2,365 Member
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    I know that you will be registered with a particualr doctor at the local practice. However, you don't have to see that particular doctor. I think the doctor I'm registered with just doesn't listen, so whenever I book an appointment I ask to see another doctor in the same practice. The receptionists have never had any problem with this, and have never asked why. I've always had more success with younger and female doctors, they seem to listen better in my experience.

    Good luck

    Erika
  • XFitMojoMom
    XFitMojoMom Posts: 3,255 Member
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    PINK - I just had my annual physical on Wednesday and basically had to beg the doctor to screen my blood work for thyroid and hormones too. The thing is they don't test for thyroid until you are 40, and hormones are done at 50... I'm sure the UK medical system is similar to that in Canada. In the US they will test you for everything because you get billed for it!
    Oh and FWIW - My doctor was most likely younger than me (37) and female... but she didn't care about my issue losing weight because she herself was at least 90-100 pounds overweight. She thought I was being vain.
  • mrd232
    mrd232 Posts: 331
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    PINK - I just had my annual physical on Wednesday and basically had to beg the doctor to screen my blood work for thyroid and hormones too. The thing is they don't test for thyroid until you are 40, and hormones are done at 50... I'm sure the UK medical system is similar to that in Canada. In the US they will test you for everything because you get billed for it!
    Oh and FWIW - My doctor was most likely younger than me (37) and female... but she didn't care about my issue losing weight because she herself was at least 90-100 pounds overweight. She thought I was being vain.

    Yeah what's up with that? I had that happen recently as well. I wanted to have a physical with lipid/cholesterol profile and they shrugged it off. Ahh, you're too young. You're a healthy weight/ BF%.

    Yeah, so? Haha. I want to know for my own sake!
  • magglett
    magglett Posts: 2,000
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    Honestly ... doctors!! I finally got a new doctor recently and I love her. It didn't matter what I went to my old doctor with he always said "Lose Weight". My legs from the knee down swelled like a balloon and went numb (lose weight). I'm so very tired all the time (lose weight), I've had a migraine for 3 days (lost weight) and I don't know if you youngins know what a Belly Apron is but I had a humungous one that started causing problems under neath and I asked for a referral to a plastic surgeon to discuss it ... my doctor said "Lose 100 lbs first then I'll refer you". Honestly ... my new doctor gave me blood tests which led to correcting some deficiencies and when I asked for it she gave me the referral to a surgeon and the surgery was done on April 30th and it's the best thing I've ever done for my health. Without the 10lb. apron resting on my thighs I was able to start walking for long stretches again, I could ride a bike, I could touch the floor, then I got back into hiking, then I found MFP and well here you go ... I'm heading for the healthy life I've been looking for. I bugged the old doctor for years to do something or let me see someone and all he ever said was "lose 100 lbs then we'll talk". I've now found a doctor who actually listens. I hope you find that too. It makes a world of a difference.
  • RecliningFigure
    RecliningFigure Posts: 214 Member
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    I hated my old doctor. Then I asked around (for a long time because I was always so busy). But recently through a recommendation of a doctor friend of mine, I found a great doctor. Not only does he listen to me, he always asks if there is anything else on my mind or that he can do for me. And their office is open 7 days a week. I'm still on the same insurance plan. I think doctors are like people. There are good ones, average ones, and some bad ones no matter where you are or what plan you're on.