Appointment didn't go well

[Jennymary]

Had my osteoporosis appt yesterday afternoon, - 2.5 is osteoporosis so 6 yrs ago with - 2.4 in the femoral hip I wasn't borderline osteo because they go on the hip score!! I've lost a couple of inches in height and consultanf thinks it could be to do with my posture, what advice did he give me.. None. He wanted me to have a blood test to check my vitamin d levels, the nurse said he also wanted my thyroid checked, thought to myself, its nice to be told, I've also had a back xray done, if I ever get the results of these is debatable, he did say I'll need another scan in 2 1/2 yrs but I don't know if I ever go back to outpatients again, I've refused the meds he wants me to take and he gave me a hard time over that, couldn't or wouldn't respect the decision I made for myself.

[sassy59]

Hello Jennymary, sorry to read your appointment didn’t go well. Your consultant isn’t really being very helpful it seems so where do you go from here?

You should certainly get your x-ray results but don’t take medication you don’t want to.

I hope things improve soon. Wishing you well. Xxxxx

[Jennymary in reply to sassy59]

Thank you

[FredaE]

My supposed osteoporosis was the result of oveactive thyoid although they swore i was not. They wanted to feed me med which had to be eten standing up with water. I can;t swallow pills so they found a strontium suspension which was no trouble but I gave that up as I was still not convinced by the diagnosis. Then i had problems swallowing and they found a hugely enlarged thyroid tucked down behind my collar bone. Since it was removed i have improved bone density and stopped breaking the speed limit which I had started to do.My consultant was very reasonable but my neighbour's GP was a bully on the subject. There are times when it is neccessary to impersonate a large immovable object

[Jennymary in reply to FredaE]

Thank you, I can, and will be, a stubborn person when I need to be

[Hidden]

Hi Jennymary,

I'm so sorry you had such a hard time at your appointment. You must be feeling very disconsolate and wondering what your best way forward is.

I'd definitely say don't give up and just sit back for as long as two and a half years, but do as FredaE has suggested and stand your ground.

But it also seems, from what she says, that there could be a very good reason for your consultant to have suggested a thyroid check, so please do agree to that, just in case.

I don't know what medication the consultant suggested, but would you consider just giving it a trial to see what happens? And that way, if it doesn't work, or you have side-effects, there will be evidence that medication didn't help.

But in any case, I feel it's always wrong to come away from any medical appointment feeling as though you've been fobbed off in some way, so I'd suggest that if your blood test, x-ray and thyroid check don't help with a diagnosis, become a pest and ask for a second opinion.

Very best wishes for going forward with this.

[Jennymary in reply to Hidden]

Hi Callendersgal, thank you for your reply, I did have the thyroid test done, it's more that consultant only said about the vitamin d test,, I was diagnosed with osteoporosis following a bone scan last summer and had lots of bloods done then at GP, afterwards I had to go back and get 1 thing checked yet they took 3 samples, which is what upset me on Wednesday, not having the test done but not being told beforehand. I won't touch the meds for all the money in all the world as one possible side effect is an eye problem which would be treated with steroid eye drops, I've got glaucoma which only has to see a steroid eye drop and the pressure shoots up, I've lost complete vision one eye through no fault of my own, I cannot or will not risk the vision in the one eye that works. Consultant said the risk of getting the problem is small, I said I'm not touching it.

Before I had my cataract done in December 2015 I never questioned the medical treatment I had, now I do because of the lack of care over sorting the problems out following the cataract which is how I've lost my vision, essentially I always trusted doctors never asked or queried anything with them, now I question everything they do for me.

[FredaE]

My late husband had glaucoma - a family problem. I had to be on permanent watch as so many meds are contra indicated. I cannot remember now if it was closed or open angle glaucoma but I soon learned that no-one seems to read the warnings or to know why it is important. It is true that sometimes bad choices need to b e made but they are choices and the patient is the final arbiter. A visit to the respectable parts of the much maligned Dr Google mean that you are prepared when they throw a snowball with a stone in because you are familiar with the words and have already thought about the options. Victor lost the sight in one eye when the capsule ruptured and he could not have the new lens put in. "They" were mortified but I suspect they did not know whether MSA mattered with a cataract operation.. I don't know either. Does it matter? His sight would have gone with the cataract but he would have kept it for longer.

I have learned to ask for a new allergy to be put on my list. I am allergic to reassurance. If something goes wrong in one percent of proceedures that is fine for the 99% but for the one percent it is 100%. i don't want reassurance - I want facts and with a rare disease like The Beast I know that the best intentioned medical adviser outside the field is just plain ignorant and does not have the experience to make these judgements. I am never rude or unkind but if a decision is going to be made by an uninformed person, that person is going to be me because I will have to live with the result.

Sorry - I have not had a rant for a long time but even now after nearly six years it can all come back and surprise you.!!

[Jennymary in reply to FredaE]

Rant all you like FredaE, I was born with glaucoma, 4th generation in the family and I've been attending hospital appt for about 40 yrs, I've always known I could lose my vision but I didn't think it would be after successful cataract surgery, even now the hospital are pushing me to have the other eye done which will never happen, I know vision in that eye will slowly go but that's my choice and not due to anything the medical profession do to me, stay safe in this weather x

[FredaE]

Thank you for that Jennymary. They told us that the lens sac was fragile because he had been using the glaucoma eye drops since he was in his forties.The first op was ok but the second, six months later, a disaster.. Take care

[brendaanna in reply to FredaE]

My husband lost his sight in the eye which had had the cataract removed.He had been using drops for his glaucoma for about 10 years.

He was told it was his fault for not putting the drops in properly.Strange his other eye was ok !!

I now know the truth ,

Thank you .