Are your other medical problems over looked??

[KimLH]

Do you find that although your GP is great and understands your FM sometimes is a little blinkered to other problems, you may have and put them down to the "FM"?

I fell and hit my shoulder that was really painfull to move, 3-4 times worse than the BAD day FM pain, it took me nearly a year to get my docter to investigate and send me for scan etc... only to find I had torn the muscle and as and it was no longer moving as it should so needed an operation to rectify this.

What would you do if you were not convinced it was just the affects of FM, seek a second opinion or trust that your GP knows best??

[Storky]

This is a really difficult problem and one that Lindsey and I hope to start to tackle soon. The correct diagnosis for any condition is so very important and indeed can be life saving. It is just not acceptable that anyone should suffer unnecessarily from anything as a result from either being dx incorrectly or having everything put in the FM bucket!!

I am a case in point and nearly died last year from a Stroke. Even afterwards I had to convince my consultant to send me for a second opinion to another consultant who I had identified, for a condition I had identified myself as being a possible cause for my Stroke. I was right and thank god the consultant was wonderful.

Unfortunately it brings home the point that Lindsey was making in another post, that we have to become our own expert patient. The more we know about our condition, the more expertly we can talk with our Doctors the better our treatments will be. We need to be firm but polite when insisting that we see another Doctor if we feel that is in our own interest and not be fobbed off by overbearing, prejudiced and ignorant people. It is up to us to educate them and actually when we prove them right they do have a new respect for us.

My GP had no idea what FM was when I first went to her, but together we have built up a working relationship. I have supplied her with info which she in turn has copied to other partners in the practise and they now freely admit that I know more about the condition then they do. I gave them a copy of the video "Show me where it Hurts" with Patrick Wood to watch and they in turn bought their own (I think FA have copies of this video still). However despite this they still have a very important part to play in my overall health because their knowledge then works together with mine to make sure that my overall health is looked after. For example my GP has just given me a big Vit D injection because she realised that despite supplementation my levels were not as good as they could be.

I tend to see one GP and she and I have an "understanding", it is the best that I can hope for. I think if you have a GP that can recognise their limitations and refer you to a Pain Clinic for the more specialised treatment it is better for both parties.

[LindseyMid]

I would never trust that any doctor, especially a GP, knows everything and gets all the answers right. Even simple things, like is a certain medication appropriate to take in certain circumstances is something that every patient should check with every new prescription. After all, even if they are genuinely doing their best, they are only human and everyone forgets things or makes mistakes sometimes.

It helps if you realise that GPs have a responsibility to refer if they are not confident in diagnosing or treating any problem a patient may have.

With new symptoms or symptoms that have not been fully investigated, it is well worth finding out what investigations are appropriate before seeing your GP about them. That way, if they um and ah, you can gently suggest "would [insert appropriate test/procedure] be appropriate?" and if they say no, ask why.

Becoming your own expert patient and taking responsibility for your own healthcare is so, so important. I really feel that it is the key to managing symptoms for many, many people with a Fibro diagnosis (some of which may not even have Fibro at all!). Sometimes people get hung up on finding a doctor or clinic that will solve all your problems and you have to realise that this is simply not going to happen.

[Shedevil_kt]

I was recently in a minor bump in a car it reversed into a pole and jarred me forward.the next day i struggled to breath the next day and the ambulance was called out as i was at work . i knew this was a new pain as i had never felt it before but the paramedics were like well its probably just your fibromyalgia nothing we can do so no point going to hospital is there. i said i wanted to go went and caused damage to some back muscles so was strapped up. i get that we are prone to pain all over but if we say it is a new pain people shoud bloody listen

[fibrojude]

Denfinately get a second opinion ,you know your body !

[Brujah81]

if you have fibromyalgia.. every other problem you have is because of your fibromyalgia i have been to the A&E with various problems and apparently they were all fibromyalgia related! i am waiting to break my arm and be told its because of the fibro!!

[irisjoy]

i am the worse 1 for saying " oh its all part of the condition " and get told off for it when i go to the GP. J