I need a rant, but if there are any GP's or employees of GP's I welcome your input...

Last Tuesday I started with an itchy burning feeling on the lower right hand side of my chest, reaching round to the lower back... It was annoying persistent and at the time just an inconvenience.
A day later and by lunchtime the feeling is stil there, but I am exhausted, having the odd hot flush and not grand.
I pop round to my parents on the way home, who can see I am not looking so clever and ask me whats wrong. I tell them and they both (having suffered from it previously) suggest it sounds like shingles

I call the docs first thing and to my surprise get an appt for that morning - not with the surgeries main doc (as he is in demand) but with one of the practices 2 part time docs...
He says it is clearly "viral" but without a rash cannot diagnose fully and to go away and come back if either the rash appears, or the current symptoms are still about in a week... Fair enough I thinks...

By Sunday, the pain has increased 10fold... It is debilitating now, walking is agony. It feels like I have had my skin cut and every time I move it feels like an open wound is splitting I am only comfortable lying perfectly still. I am still more lethargic than a sleepy sloth and having hot cold sweats...It feels like I should have one mother of a rash but I dont

I have researched shingles and all my symptoms point to it - bar the lacking rash - but it is known to have the condition without the rash - according to NHS direct... So, in all this pain, I go back to the docs this morning...

Today I see the other part time doc and I recount Thursdays events and explain in detail my ills. He takes a look, prods about and tells me I have a "muscular skeletal" problem and prescribes me some anti inflamms

I ask him to diagnose my problem and he tells me to take the tablets and go away. He tells me that it is impossible to diagnose shingles without a rash - clearly a lie or incompetence on his part as it is written that you can... He repeats it is muscular skeletal (which it clearly isnt) and sends me on my way, promising me a sick note for work if I go beyond 7 days but unable to tell me what he will write on it. :
Essentially the second doctor did not listen to / understand a word I said in the 4 minutes of his prescious time he was prepared to share with me and it has led to me coming away clearly misdiagnosed.

I have called the surgery, moaned and booked an appt for Wed morning with the "proper doc" and am absolutely fuming

Do I complain to a practise manager in writing about doctor number 2? Has anyone else suffered with such an weird ailment?
It's all rubbish

It helps to rant

 

I would certainly complain about it to someone.

When I had cranial nerve shingles, my GP diagnosed it as temporal arteritis. Which would havemade me a bit of a medical miracle, seeing as I was 30 at the time - It is incredibly rare to see people less than 50 have it.

That same GP diagnosed my Gall Stones as bein an ulcer, and told me to go out and eat more reguarlaly, and treat myself to a kebab. Which, if you know anything about gall stones, is about the worst thing you can possibly do..

About 12 hours into the excruciating pain, and the whites of my eyes had turned yellow from jaundice, I realised he may have made an error...

 

Absolutely make a complaint. Doc number 2 is an idiot.

I had a truly awful bout of Shingles that had me bedbound for almost two weeks. I was diagnosed by my GP and I never came out in a rash. I even mentioned to him that I thought I would have a rash with Shingles and he said that I might not present with one at all.

 

I have previously treated as shingles before the rash has appeared if there is a dermatomal distribution and a good history. Antivirals are now cheap, previously the cost was well over £100 for a course so they were not given unless it was convincing as the benefits were considered dubious in the otherwise healthy individual. It is more likely than not that you would have developed a rash by now if you are going to get one, but not 100%. Rarely, you can indeed have shingles without a rash.

I've previously debated between musculoskeletal chest pain and shingles, also ulcer and gallstones (usually test for both if in doubt). Temporal arteritis vs cranial nerve shingles is tricky because treatment for the former makes the latter worse!

It isn't an easy game for patient or doctor, rudeness is not necessary even on a Monday though

 

Absolutley John, I appreciate that without a rash, the certainty of diagnosis is impossible. That said, the diagnosis is only one issue, the other is the complete polarisation of the two doctors when presented with the same facts...
Interesting that magepaster's GP has confirmed what I suspect is my problem.
Dont get me wrong, I would rather it was a pulled muscle than Shingles, but the "burning, skin surface, rash type pain" is agony - even if there is no rash...
The sooner I beat it the better

 

Yes, it would be nice if my profession didn't come across as patronising c**t$ (except on Scoobynet where it is de rigeur), listened to patients and expressed uncertainty where appropriate in a cooperative fashion. However, I work in the sticks and the vast majority of my patients are ace and haven't worn me down too much yet

 

One thing I would like to add to this thread is an experience I will never forget, and one that has changed my view of doctors forever.

My grandad had lung cancer when I was about 7 years old...was caught early and a lung was removed, but the cancer was gone at least. He made a good recovery, managing to go for long walks etc with just the 1 lung.

7 years later(when I was 14) he started coughing alot and said he always felt like he had phlegm that he just couldnt shift. He went to the doctors a few times and was fobbed off with various "remedies". Still the problem got worse. This was now beginning to get worrying considering the fact my grandad had cancer of the lung 7 years previous to this, so after a few months he went to see a specialist doctor at a hospital about it...who fobbed him off yet again with medicine to take - diagnosing him with "bad catar" or something similar.

Again, the problem only got worse...so he was back to the specialist again after waiting about another 4 months(the problem had now been going on for roughly a year and a half now). The specialist gives him a different medicine this time - but still the problem is "catar"(I should also point out that this specialist was the same guy that treated him for cancer before so he knew everything).

Anyway, a month or so later and they finally agree to give my grandad a biopsy or whatever its called to rule out cancer. Test results come back and it was confirmed that he did in fact have throat cancer...and on further investigation, cancer in about 3 other locations in his body, having spread quickly...and its terminal.

So now the poor guy has to die a long uncomfortable and undignified death because some b*stard of a doctor wanted to fob him off with a "quick fix" rather than spend a bit of time and effort getting him dealt with.

Sorry for the long rant, but the moral of that story is to basically keep at them until you are satisfied...and in your case mate, it sounds like your having a **** time.

Alan

 

Write a letter to the practice manager definately, don't let it drop.

TerzoAlan- That is awful and very sad for everyone concerned especially your grandad.

I am currently putting in a letter of complaint about my doctors (who I am no longer registered with since Jan this year), my complaint will then proceed into claiming or further, who knows.

I had been with my doctors for 18 months, and just before registering with them I had been with a previous surgery who had reffered me to Urology as I kept having slight water infections, we moved house so I couldn't have that appointment, but I was told my new doctors will easily be able to send me to the local hospital here to investigate.

Registered and told them all the problems I had been having and about going to Urology, no they wouldn't refer me as I had to start from scratch for them to know what I was experiencing. Note- this was mid 2006.

For the next year I had on-going water infections, alot of pains, fever, chills, sickness, could barely walk sometimes as the pain was so bad, everytime I was like this a UTI would show up, so the doctor would give me antibiotics each time. I asked for scans etc, no I didn't need them as water infections in women are quite common apparently! Eventually, just to shut me up I think, he sent me for a scan, but instead of doing my abdomen etc they just done it for kidneys, nothing showed up. I went back and forward to the surgery nearly every 2 weeks, sometimes I had to phone coz I couldn't make it down with the pain, I went to A&E a few times, they couldnt do anything as I would have to still go through my doctor. He diagnosed me with IBS at one point and told me to change my diet, I was already concerened I was losing weight, his reply was that I worry too much and nothing was wrong, (my dad dies of cancer in 2003 and I was worried incase I had anything), so you can see why I was worrying, then I got told I had a bad back coz the pain would be round my lower back too!!! My reply was that I never realised water infections had anything to do with bad backs! I also explained how I couldn't get pregnant, again I was told it was nothng to worry about.

For 18 months I was back and forward constantly asking to be looked at and reffered as there was a problem, each time I got sent home told to have plenty fluids and paracetamol. Sometimes he prescribed antibiotics over the phone without any sample etc just because the pian I was describing sounded like another water infection! I couldn't get it through to him that something has to be causing so many infections.

Eventually at the back end of last year and into new year I was getting worse, I couldn't walk becaue of the pain, I was losing alot of weight very quickly, I couldn't hold any food down, not even liquids so I went to A&E as my doctor was not listening to me and said I had Norovirus as it was doing the rounds, I'd ended up shivering all of a sudden, my head felt really weird and my lips had turned blue, my breathing was shallow too.

I was admitted to a ward on the Sunday morning and would start having tests that week, my blood pressure was 70/60 when I went in!

On the Monday I had ONE x-ray and the consultant was concerned as he thought it was a problem with my bowel so I had to go for a Laparoscopy the following day, I was terrified at what was going to happen but was told it would take a hour max and if anything needed done they'd do it with key hole surgery. 4 hours later I woke up in aginy in recovery and knew something had been done, but what I found wasn't what I'd expected at all. What had been found was a massive abcess sitting in my pelvis leaking out stuff which was full of e-coli infection and streptococol (sp?), it was leading to septicemia, my fallopian tubes and ovaries were blocked with all this stuff and my appendix was also ready to burst as it was getting infected so that had to come out, my bowel was stuck with all the yak stuff aswell and was getting infected, I was told another 12 hours if I hadn't been taken in and god knows what could have happened, I was right on the bottom. I've had to be cut from my belly button all the way down as far as you can possibly go, it is deep aswell,I had 3 drains in at one time to make sure everything had been cleared, my fertility is now nil with no chance of having any kids and I will be referred to Gynae to keep a check.

I was in hospital for 11 days, for 2 months I couldnt do anything, and I mean nothing, I lost my independancy, I'm scarred for life, thank god I've still got my life but it can return and if it does I will have to have a full hysterectomy, it's the only was to stop it, not something I had ever considered at the age of 24.

I know this post is long and most people will think, yeah come on we don't want a novel, but this is real and what happens when doctors dismiss peoples problems, and looks who's left to suffer.

 

Julz - that is negligence beyond belief! I hope that those responsible are strung up. Thank god you got there when you did!

I saw the real doctor today - told me it is Neuralgia eminating from my 8th or 9th vertebrae. He has given me 100mg Carbamazepines - told me to take them for a few days and to come back in a week. In the meantime he has signed me off work and told me to rest. If anything else comes along by way of symptoms to go straight back in.
If by next week I am still suffering, he has said I will need spinal xrays and blood tests...

At least I feel confident of the diagnosis, he was clearly not amused by the doc I saw on Monday and told me that the Naproxen I was prescribed on that visit are useless for the condition I have...

Here's hopin this time next week I am back in fine fettle

 

Good old Neuralgia. Covers everything from Shingles to an infection

 

Yep, then locate the area of pain, in this case at the middle of the back and bingo, its definitely neuralgia coming from T8, maybe T9 vertebrae.

 

LOL - The latin term for neuralgia is "PeteBrant", but that's only when it eminates from the coccyx (or very very lowest vertebrae) - more commonly referred to as "a pain in the ar$e"

 

Google "Bornholm's Pleurodynia" ....do your symptoms match that ???

Bornholm disease - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shaun

 

No dude... Not "vice like grips" - good research tho

 

Glad to hear you got to see a dcotor who speaks sense Abdabz.

I know my post was long, but my report letter is even longer, 5 pages in all and i'm still not finished!!

I'm still recovering, for the next 12 months I will be, I don't think my old surgery has a leg to stand on, it is already under threat to close but they are appealing it, that may all turn around once this letter goes in, who knows???

It'll take me forever but if theres a good outcome it'll have been worth every second, I seriously hate the doctor and he talks utter cr@p!

Hope you feel better soon

 

You guys should have gone to the states to see 'House', he knows his stuff