Well, made contact with surgery ( I was 10th in the queue ) couldn't talk to anyone ( GP or Pharmacist ). Left a message and a return phone call a few hours later told me to take 2 blood pressure readings am and pm. for the next 7 days.
Excellent stalling practice !
So, I've decided on a more aggressive approach, I am gonna pay for an initial private consultation with an EP .... my point is that I know I'm asymptomatic, I know from heaps of anecdotal evidence AF events for many AF'ers hit in the early hours AND that is true for me. Doubtless any appointment will be a while so it gives me a chance to get a Echocardiogram done, and even as I type this I can feel 'stuff' damn well goin' on.
Thank you everyone for your input - much appreciated.
John
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BenHall1
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Thanks Jalia ........... it seems to be the only way to go ......... I have now decided to make a formal complaint about my GP in particular AND the Surgery Practice in general. It seems that the only way to get anywhere is to FIRMLY KICK ASS. I am down at the pointy end of Cornwall - that magnet of tourism - so our only NHS ( as opposed to Private ) Hospital soon fills up with stupid tourists who bring with them on holiday all their medical conditions which are best dealt with at their home surgery, or who indulge in reckless holiday activities resulting in a need for hospital attention.
I bet the residents of wealthy counties, Oxfordshire or Surrey, wouldn't put up with the crap that goes on down here.
You’re not alone I can tell you - went to GP last week - right leg still keeps swelling - offered compression stockings- My god his face when I said sorry that’s not good enough and I want to know what’s causing my leg to swell up
Not much better in Devon! GP complaint looming as well. ' bet the residents of wealthy counties, Oxfordshire or Surrey, wouldn't put up with the crap that goes on down here...'
I said the exact same words to someone last week....'up country ' they'd either go private or have the mental & physical energy, finances to complain / instruct gold plated lawyers.
Some GP's not fit for purpose IMO now Sad state of affairs.
Hello BenHall1, we appreciate your frustration relating to the ongoing pain you are experiencing, it is now unknown that waiting lists do vary dependent on which health authority you are with. Understandably location play apart in these waiting times.
All the best John. You must be very stressed and hope by going private you get peace of mind. There is so much lack of care now we have no other option. All we get at our practice is interrogation and lies. Let us know how it goes.
Thank you for your comments. In my view all these rubbish NHS GP Surgeries are the product of, not so much CoVid, but of the dastardly mind of a former Tory politician who spent time in the Australian Jungle. Personally, I'd have scratched him with some coral and left him to the sharks ! Played hard - dun good !
😂😂😂😂😂😂. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!!! If only we could get rid of this anxiety which makes everything so much worse. Try not to worry (easier said than done l know) but you will be ok and soon be sorted out. This damn complaint can take over your life. Lots of good wishes.
I agree with Jalia above. It is very difficult to get a GP appointment. I would not describe myself as a help seeker/frequent flyer but when I do have contact with health services they seem to discourage any further contact. My GP practice has refused to take bloods to monitor my cancer (active surveillance). I had to go to my local general hospital, they now say that they cannot do it and have advised me to go to a more distant hospital. The mantra used to be for a seamless service provided locally. Times have changed.I hope that the EP appointment goes well for you. Regards
Thanks for your comments. I found some years ago on one of my rare needs for NHS intervention that the only way to get it was to write and make a formal complaint to my Westminster MP with the request that he took up my issues with the Secretary State for Health.
That involved my only NHS Cornish Hospital ............ that certainly brought the house down. Kick Ass - get results - beg and plead and you'll get walked over.
I have got to the point that I researched my former GP in Sydney. She is ( about my age ) still practising. Planning to make contact with the view to arranging a consultation - spend money on a return flight to Sydney, see her. At least I'll get the added benefit of an overseas holiday.
Have your GP surgery explaine why they can’t/wont do your bloods? My neuro wanted regular bloods and to have the copies of the results which ended up being a war over whose budget would pay!
Good luck John. Seems it's the only way these days to get to see an EP. I have been paying every 6 months and finally had an ablation 4 weeks ago on the NHS. Shouldn't be this way
I’ve had to get an Apple Watch with an ecg and record mine when it happens because the hospital can never catch the bugger !
Apple Watch also gives me a weekly Afib report on burden , days it has happened and times . I am also willing to shell out on a private EP appt , hopefully money well spent especially as my cardiologist is all doom & gloom when it comes to ablations !
Thanks for that. I guess that's my problem - the gizmo's I have are all "AFTER THE EVENT", I can never capture stuff in 'real time'. I'm on a hiding to nothing.
Mrs Ben Hall wants me to stop stuffing around and stop being the monkey and go straight to the organgrinder !
By the way - what model Apple Watch have you got ?
I can sense and understand your frustration. However, looked at in the round, I was wondering whether there wasn't some method behind your GP's idea to leave things till you have carried out a few more am/pm BP checks?
Your Kardia "looks good" as you say, which means there's no AF and that your heart is NSR, so what you are presenting with is a slightly raised BP in the early hours (when natural steroid levels are low, and your steroid injection has likely affected these further) and, probably as it would be natural, anxiety from the palpitations that would produce a raised BP (it does with me - very similar figures to yours, in fact). Last evening, my chest felt very similar to yours, but the Apple ECG showed NSR.
You could save the cost of a private consultation, too, and with even private appointments under great pressure, it could be released for someone else.
What you say makes sense ........ more so when I recall the MSK Interface guy who administered the magic potion said he'd contact me in three weeks time to catch up and see how I was. Also more so - he asked if I'd mind if he phoned my GP ..... I laughed and said no - don't mind... good luck with that !! He got lucky as he was about 10 to 15 minutes on the phone to her.
Implication is that he must have expected side effects for up to 3 weeks. So I will go with the flow for another 2 weeks and see. Meanwhile I have my CoVid jab on Saturday 😱😱
All that said whilst feeling much better not happy, weird feelings in chest, everything is damn hard work, including breathing and massive discomfort under the lower ribs.
Well much improved but chest ( and gut ) not quite 'tickety boo' . I've looked back over my medical file ( as a refresher/memory jogger ) . Things I'd forgotten or got out of perspective .
Right back in the early days of 2010 it didn't take me long to link the onset of AF with food I'd eaten. Following some time wasting with my then Surrey GP I eventually consulted a Nutritionist who made some ( for me anyway, far reaching recommendations on diet ). A new diet accompanied by medication very gradually whipped the demon into shape until about 4 years ago when I became clear of AF, until in the last 6 months or so odd events have emerged, this being the latest.
I have decided to see a Consultant ( a cancellation ) practising at our only major private hospital in Truro ( for that even read Cornwall ), a guy, a South African who lists amongst his specialties ......... the heart - gut relationship. I see him next Tuesday with a Echocardiogram first. The one thing I've learned about AF over 14 years ..... is to leave it alone or to ignore it ..... is begging for trouble because it WILL have it's wicked, wicked way.
I have the same problem with my GP surgery. Left the last one as instead of submitting an urgent referral for suspicion of cancer.....they filed it! They hadn't even realised they'd not sent it a month later when I rang them (after chasing it) to say the hospital are saying where is it????????
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Ain’t that a kick in the teeth -Part 2
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Return of the beast
