feeling like a nusiance

Hey folks ... GPS are paid to have you on their register regardless of how often you see them ... or NOT . Think of the 10 or 15 years you hardly went at all .... they were still paid around £3000 a year for the risk of you attending , so if you ever worry about " troubling " them DONT... I worked out that my GP had been paid around £ 60,000 before I needed to see them , and in my 1st retirement year went at least 8 times ( everything catches up with you that you ignored whilst working ) don't forget YOU are important , don't be intimidated ??

Can someone tell me what is BCC and INR please

It's not all down to money , but don't forget they get paid extra if you see a nurse, discover you have diabetes, or high blood pressure, high collesterol, are excessively overweight , have a smear etc , etc .... so don't worry .

as you age you generally see the dr more,and why not,we have paid all our lives into the system! being a dr is a well paid job, but the stress....,gps are retiring earlier than ever,ones of the reasons why there is a shortage.remember they have a very difficult job,they are at the coal face of most of our ills,physical,mental and social. who would be a dr?!

Baggs i feel your pain regarding repeated blood tests,
I have to go every 3 weeks apparently, to measure my ferritin levels, i have refused recently because, my ferritin isnt that high, [not supposed to go over 100] and i feel worse when it gets too low,
I have Haemochromatosis, [iron overload] but i have no problems with it, and if it goes over 100 supposed to have a venesection, [about a pint of blood taken] but i have refused those too, as my iron builds very slowly but after a venesection, drops a lot,
I have not seen a Consultant for over a year, and the nurse said we are just doing what we are told to do
My argument is this, not everyone is the same, and a pint of blood from a big person might not affect them the same as it does me, at 5 ft nothing,it makes me very tired,so what is the point of feeling ill when i feel ok to start with,

Knowing how hard pressed our GPS were I would phone for an appointment and accept whatever I was offered, only asking before the call ended who would I be seeing. One time I got the only doctor at the surgery who I didn’t like after she was unkind to my then troubled teenager but duly attended. She sat there a minute looking at my notes and then said, ‘Hmm, you like to put yourself about a bit, why is that?’. I was stunned and thereafter chose to see only my favourite of the GPs even if it meant a three week wait and when she retired I moved surgeries.

Great news (I think) the system is changing so that GP's will have a range of Allied Health Professions based with them such as pharmacists, physics, dietitians so that you have the option to see them first eg a physio for back pain. www.england.nhs.uk/gp/gpfv/ and www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/ahp-action-transform-hlth.pdf in England mainly but we can self refer to physios in Scotland.

Some of the experiences on here are absolutely disgraceful!
I am very lucky, I have a female GP who listens and spends time with each patient. It can be difficult to get an urgent appointment if needed but the girls on Reception are very good and do their very best to find a slot.

Bags: "Royal Wedding Cake Hidden Health Scare" sounds like the Daily Express headline from heaven...

travelsafar I would speak to the pharmacist as suggested above, and you must certainly get things checked out. Don't feel you are being a nuisance, that is what the GPs are there for.

Good luck with the problems you have.

Yep. A quick run down is as follows. I had an ongoing problem with an incisional hernia which had been caused by a hysterectomy, and was rapidly growing. The surgeon wouldn't operate until I lost 25 kg. He sent me to a bariatric surgeon who wouldn't operate because I had so much scarred tissue and because of a lifetime of chronic reflux he would (if he could) have had to perform a gastric bypass but didn't want to do that. Rewind back to November 2017. My two yearly "poo test" came back as positive so I was admitted to hospital for further tests. Luckily the colonoscopy only showed polyps which were removed. A couple of months later I was woken at 4am by the most horrendous pain and noise in my head and ear. My daughter took me to the Emergency Dept after putting some warm water in my ear, amongts all my screaming. The doctors couldn't see anything but thought I had perforated my ear drum with a cotton bud. I then had several appointments at the ENT clinic where the doctors all had a poke around in my ear. Part of the examination involved putting a tube with a camera up my nose and down my throat. This showed a lesion down my throat and tongue so I had to be admitted for treatment for that. At my last ENT appointment a doctor exclaimed he thought he could see a leg (insect) in my ear. A doctor eventually pulled out a large beetle which fell into two parts as it was removed. I had a couple a months getting over all this but kept getting sicker and in increasing pain until in October, the night before I was due to fly interstate for my youngest grandson's birthday I was rushed to hospital for an emergency operation to remove my hernia, where it was touch and go as to whether my bowel would have to be removed. Luckily this was not necessary so after a week my daughter took me back to her home (a 5 hr drive). After the drive I became ill with fluid leaking everywhere from my wound and had to go to the Emergency dept but was sent home after a few hours on the proviso I saw a doctor the next day. By the time I saw the doctor I had a temperature and was in pain so straight back to the ED where I was admitted and stayed for 3 days. I was allowed back to my daughter's care with the dressings being changed and my temperature being taken every few hours. The scans for my stomach showed lesions on my lungs so I now have to go back to my local Hospital for a biopsy on my lungs this coming Wednesday. I do hope they don't find anything else. I don't like this getting old.

My DH has so many health issues and has done for several years. Also he is hearing impaired so I have to go to appointments with him. I am constantly listening about yet another "complaint" so much so just cannot be bothered to go to Dr with my issues, eg hips, knee, fingers that I have put down to probably arthritis, ears/throat constantly sore but I just feel I have medical overload and the last thing I need is a visit to GP.

Travelsafar.Why should we feel we are visiting our GP too much.? What have they spent years of training for if they cannot spend a moment putting our minds at rest or that we made need to have our particular health issue investigated or prescribe us medication and 'come and see me again if you do not feel better/ clears up'. As for a possible femoral hernia it is good that your doc is sending you for further investigation.

Lucky if you can see a GP easily, I had a stroke 3 weeks ago, ambulance,hospital, scans etc, fortunately no really awful after effects but hospital said I should see GP,.....next appointment 26th March. I know if emergency 111 is at the end of a phone but I really just want a chat to assure me all is going as it should .
By the way I had a femoral hernia repair,travels afar, four years ago, don't worry too much, did the job and soon recovered. Take care and good wishes to all us hyperchondriacs (spelling?)!!!!

Our Gp surgery has notices that say only one health issue will be dealt with in the 7 minute consultation. So it isn't any wonder we have to make so many appointments. Having said that it's never stopped me mentioning something else if it's been worrying me and so far it hasn't caused a problem.

Does your gp offer telephone appointments or have a practice nurse? If I’m not sure I try to discuss any issues before making an appointment with either of the above. You could also try 111 and ask for advice. I hope you resolve your health things quickly as it can be quite concerning until you know what’s going on. Good luck

I had a chest infection over Christmas and New Year and visited the doctor four times (their fault that they gave me the wrong antibiotics) A week later I suddenly developed pain on urinating but not cystitis. After urine was tested the male doctor was quite dismissive as it showed no infection and offered no solution or medication. I’ve decide not to go back and to just live with it.
It’s almost like them saying “you are old , go away and die”

I have an elderly neighbour that I keep an eye on and I do his shopping. He suffers from severe COPD and naturally he panics which is the cause of most problems related. With a little help he is beginning to self manage.

Since before Christmas he has had something different every day. In December he had the paramedics out every week. January was the same but February was a record!! One week he had the paramedics out twice on the Monday, once on the Tuesday , twice on the Wednesday until they insisted on taking him to hospital. he came home on the Saturday night and had the paramedics out at 5.00a.m on the Monday morning.

Now a community nurse is visiting and I think that she is trying to get over to him that with many chronic ailments you have to learn to self manage. Most of us know how to cope and when we need help.

I do find it annoying when you haven't been to the GP for maybe years and when you do go they are quite dismissive. I hadn't visited my GP for years until five years ago, She didn't really listen and simply said it's down to stress following the death of your husband! The pain got worse eventually went back to GP without any examination or any facts she simply said I will refer you.

Initially, the gastroenterologist diagnosed that I was suffering from fructose malabsorption due to the fact that I ate too much fruit. Told me to eat no more than three pieces a day. She did send me for a scan which showed that I had a rare spigellian hernia (which has since been treated.)

It makes you wonder why we have to wait so long for an appointment when you wring up and you get the 'sermon' - dial 999 for strokes etc see your pharmacist - then you see the list for Do you need to see your doctor today? You think well what do you see your Doctor for???

Holly doily, BCC , basal cell carcinoma, but don't panic, sounds scary but easily dealt with, I've had a couple over the years, get it done soonest other wise you'll worry unnecessarily, don't know the other initials though, I guess someone else will, otherwise Dr Google is very knowledgeable ?

I go with a written list or I forget.
I make a joke of most of the ailments and only make an appointment if I've tried other avenues such as Dr google.
Our GPS are very understanding.

I hhave a friiend who goes to the Gp at least once a week and has done for many years she is on,y 66 now
Last week she woke up with a sore throat went 2 docs got given antti biotic read the leaflet re the side effects so didnt take them and then went to do s again 2 days later with same thing
These r the patients they do t want to see.
Also bear in mind the practice is a business they get money every year 2 have u on their books and money every time you go to see them.
As we get older health issues seem to come along like buses.
Good luck with the scan

Go to the doctors please don’t think you’re a nuisance it could be something or nothing we’re not the expert! I had a pain in my side that I ignored ending up spending 5 days in hospital after being rushed in,turns out I’d got puss on my kidney. I’m coming 70 and keep fit but still get more ailments then when younger.

Heavens! There are some terrible stories here. I suddenly feel much better ....
Someone told me that once you get to 70, which I did last year, you are faced with at least 3 serious health problems. Ha, I said, not me, fit as a flea! So, in the last 6 months I've had tubes stuck up/down 3 orifices and I can't praise my lovely new GP or the 3 hospitals I attended (within 2 weeks of referral) too highly. It appears to be a post code lottery, sadly, and I've obviously struck lucky with my new address. It really shouldn't be like this. . I moved from an area where, unless you were at death's door, the average GP wait was 5 weeks. I can now be seen within a couple of days or often straight away. We should all have that availability.

For arthritis I have for years taken both the 8 paracetamol a day AND up to 3 Ibuprofen. Mostly just two of those. You can only take Ibuprofen after food, by the way.

Harrigran if you are being treated for cancer you must have a consultant and specialist nurse you can contact at the hospital? It might depend which kind of cancer but definitely if breast cancer. Also there are Macmillan's who can advise. I'd go to the hospital contacts, I phoned a couple of times when things worried me when I was having treatment, but also a few years later when I was just being monitored for it coming back.

Many of the GP practices mentioned will probably not feature on 'GP's Behind Closed Doors'. How often do they say to people things like 'Its lovely to see you' and then give them a hug as they leave. As if.