Gp problem

[Jeffscott69]

I'm off work,very sore and exhausted,went to my gp,not usual one,but he only one I could get app with,told him how I felt,he said I can't give you a docs line for tiredness!!!,it is more than just tiredness I have,it is on my notes from reumy what is wrong with my health,docs don't seem to have an understanding of lupus at all,don't know what to do,am not fit for work,but getting myself so stressed out as I need docs line for employer.

[misty14]

Hi Jeffscott

Can you try and get an appointment with your usual GP ?. I know it isn't easy with holiday time!.

[Hidden]

I had similar experience - although with the fatigue I'd had sickness, flu, chest infection etc. So he gave me a sick note but refused to back date it to the period where fatigue was my only symptom. I went back six weeks later and looked him in the eye, explained the nature of my self employed work, told him that Rheumatoid Arthritis (my official diagnosis) comes with fatigue listed on the main symptoms and he wrote "Rheumatoid Arthritis Flare Up" and backdated it to January - because I presented him with a calendar of symptoms written in bullet points for him.

He is still learning from an expert in auto immune fatigue - me!

Just do whatever you have to do - call it narcolepsy and say it makes you fall asleep in the middle of what you are doing. It's unsafe. And this isn't an exaggeration - I can just lie down on a cold hard floor and go out like a light on occasion. It's the inflammation in our bodies which we put a lot of energy into fighting. Good luck - hope you find a more sympathetic bs enlightened doctor.

[Jeffscott69 in reply to Hidden]

Thankyou

[tennissenior]

Doctors can't cure you. They can give you "that look," and I feel strongly that they don't have a clue as to what our fatigue feels like. People will tell you "Take a nap." That's because they are dumb and uninformed and cannot understand the difference between feeling sleepy and feeling like you need batteries to work your arms and legs. I don't think my own husband, after 4 years of dealing with this disease, can ever understand the fatigue. Sometimes you only feel better when you lie in bed and watch tv. I totally get it! I'm retired now, but if I had to get up and go to work every day, I doubt that I could.

[ShellyB1 in reply to tennissenior]

Oh I like your description of fatigue Tennissenior!! I must remember that the next time someone says to me 'I'm tired too'. I wish I just felt 'tired' as opposed to feeling like I've just run a full marathon when I've simply walked to the bus stop, or my limbs are so fatigued I have to crawl up the stairs... !!

Jeffscott69 your experience reminds me of my visit to a trainee gp many years ago when all the problems started - he said 'well most people feel like that...' He sent me to the practice nurse for bloods and on the verge of tears I told her as I was so upset - she was shocked and made me an appointment with a more understanding gp and told me I should never see the other one again.

Take care

ShellyB1 x

[tennissenior in reply to ShellyB1]

Shelly - I've learned to ignore the idiots who don't have a clue! If we don't ignore them, we'd be accused or murder and serving time! Getting up off a sofa with great difficulty getting your legs and body to move is "fatigue." Not yawning! duhhhhhh to those who don't HAVE Lupus!

[goingaroundthetwist]

Hi,

sorry to hear of this, not at all what you should experience from the caring profession.

Definitely arrange another appointment with a doctor who you have seen before. Do you have any lupus leaflets to take in with you? I find that it helps me as a reminder of what I'm talking about, and also lets the gp read first hand what is what, instead of from notes. Most notes are very abstract and things are lost in translation in my view, as doctors seem to paraphrase a lot. (If you don't have leaflets, Lupus uk have leaflets available). If you are not comfortable with the leaflet tack, get in touch with your rheumatolgist and get him/her to send an updated letter outlining your conditions. (Mine did this for me, as a gp, was poo pooing my symptoms), the letter was very effective!!

You are not simply tired or suffering from tiredness, it is fatigue with everything else that I imagine you have to put up with too. If you have reached the point that you have had to go to the doctors, your body is telling you that you are doing too much. It is absolutely ridiculous that people suffering these symptoms which let's face it, is like carrying around dead weights all the time, should be made to feel guilty about real issues. And you know what? we are all probably the most strongest out of everyone, as we have to surmount health issues every single day, not just when we are feeling unwell like 'healthy' specimens!

Please go back and keep going until you find a sympathetic understanding even if not entirely knowledgeable on the subject) doctor.

Stay in there, you are doing great.

Thinking of you,

love and hugs,

GATT