Iv only just returned to the site after taking time off due to lots of stress at home.
I am so shocked at some of the posts that i have read....some members have tried to express how they feel about the problems with a thyroid condition and how the medical profession has not been supportive through this process. Some members have said that there is alot of negative attitudes around doctors not understanding a treating people in a dignified manner. Other members have been dissmissive of peoples expereinces and use research and other claims to back up their theories. I have no problem with any of that but i do have a problem with not letting people have their say from their own expereinces..
One member was critisised for saying that most people do notfeel well on medication for thyroid disease...the response to that was appalling....It is also my view that most people do not feel well on medication..this is largely due to only giving replacement thyroxine and not seeing the fuller picture. I dont need to dwell on stastistics as i beleive that in large they are created to meet an agenda by the organisation conducting them. Equally so, research is only a tool and is dependent upon it been carried out with openess and a diverse approach. Again the research can be tailored to meet its ends.
My expereinces of GPs and consultents that i have been involved with have opened my eyes to the abuse that is inflicted upon patients when they are most vulnerable. For years i worked in domestic violence and people who had experience emotional and mental abuse were far more badly damaged for longer than people who had expereinced other forms of abuse.
I know first hand that abuse is rife throughout the medical profession but trying to prove it is another challenge yet to be faced. Just because someone has the letters DR before their name does not make them saints. The job itself is one of power and many many people in such positions will and do abuse that power, and why.. well because they can.
It reminds me so much of famous DJs that have come to light abusing vulnerable young people becasue they could. And who would think that somone who has a jolly deminure and visits sick children in hospital...who would imagine they could be a seriel abuser.
The same is happening now within the medical professiopn and no- one cares, they turn a blind eye.. And who would they beleive anyway.
I would love to go back to how things were years ago, when your family doctor was part of the community,he knew your parents and grand parents and you knew about him or her.
We have a right to know more about the people who are treating us, not just that they are qualified but also about their values and beliefs, because it is these attitudes and values that impact upon how we are treated.
You read so much these days about dignity at the end of life,,why oh why cant we be treated with dignity while we are living.
I want to be able to say i dont like the way you are treating me, and dont speak to me like that..there should be consrquenses for such behaviour..like we will take our buiness else where and they wont get paid...give us choises based on outcomes and expereinces. GPs in my view have a life long meal ticket at the expense of me, you and anyone who steps foot in their door.
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yorkshiregirl44
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And the more central government gives gp practicestheir own budgets...we the needy, anxious patients will be at the back of the queue and handed a prescription and sent on our way.
If there is ever politian who has the guts to stand and fight for patients rights..they will get my vote...i wont hold my breath...
I agree. In the past 23.5 years I know exactly how many doctors I've seen who actually treated me like a human being with a life worth living pain free and as able as possible. Takes less than the fingers and thumb on one hand. I'm surprised when I meet a good one - shouldn't it be the other way around?
Yes every now and then we meet a caring doctor. It takes more than 7 years or so of training to be a good one....people skills and decency are things you can not learn. you are either decent and care or you dont.
You only get to know someones values and beliefs when you meet them, and get to know them, otherwise we would be prejudging them.
You say, why can't we be treated with dignity. I feel dignity is self respect, and respecting of each other.
You also say,( I want to be able to say, I don't like how you are treating me) why don't you say, ( I don't like how you are treating me) ???
No one, yorkshiregirl, can do anything to you, when you express your opinion of what you feel is not right!
It is called freedom of speech.
There are many injustices in this life, where do you start, you complain, complain, then complain higher, till you are heard and the situation is resolved either way.
Your last line, yes, it does appear to look like, a life long meal ticket.
Sooooo, make them work for it, every time you visit them, don't be fobbed off, you are paying in your taxes for this service.
I agree with everyword you have said in theory...i have tried to make myself heard when the GP has been rude or dissmissive..only to be taken off the practice because of relationship breakdown. I have tried to complain only to find the practice manager totally one sided and even higher up. Its too exhausting.
I know im not alone with this but its still so very wrong.
Now i try and avoid them as much as i can...i go private when possible..when you pay you sometimes see a difference. That said we still pay with the NHS and some pay with their lives.
The problem is, trying to advocate for yourself in the NHS system, when you are potentially very unwell, is extremely hard. It wears you down. In the end some of us - certainly myself tbh - just give up. It's bad enough trying to fight hierarchy and bureaucracy when one is well.
I think also that as healthcare is/should be built on a relationship of trust, if that trust is absent/eroded or non existent to start with how does a patient proceed? How do we literally put our lives in these medical professionals' hands when we feel we are at such odds with them? A good doctor makes you feel as if they are on your side and determined to find out what's wrong and the best course of action. A bad doctor makes you feel as if you're having to prove yourself, doesn't believe you and is not on your side... So how can they then be looking out for our best interests? They might stop me from dying, but they aren't interested in giving me the best quality of life I can have. There's a massive difference IMHO.
You have hit the nail on the head. Its about building that relationship.
An example is when i had to have a serious op many years ago. I was terrified , the specialist treating me Mr Lyndon went out of his way to try to re-assure me, we talked about his life and times when he had been afraid,he drew diagrams of what he would do in surgery. He saw me as an individual and worked with that. Of course i was still afraid but i was able to put my trust in him and thankfully i did and recovered.
Sadlyhe is working in Australia now...a massive loss for us.
I cringe going to see the GP,but I try to remind myself,I am paying this GP wages.If I am
unwell I want to be healed, and listened to.The first time I went to this medical centre about a year ago,I saw this young male GP. I was about to ask my second question and he said that, I had my 10 minutes and come back another day, my husband was with me.We were both left speechless and left. Needless to say I avoided him like the plague.
I think a grading system, if they don't get the patients they are dropped from the NHS lists
Your expereinces sound very much like mine. I beleive im verging on PTSD as a result of their actions.
I cant avoid them asmuch as i wouldlike because my son needsmy support with whats going on with him.
For a long timei have thought about trying tostart up some kind of advocacy service to help people in the position we find ourselves in. At least it would be positive and might also help with gaining more confidence and in helping others. I think its easier to be assertive when its not yourself.
Wow, that is horrendous treatment, I can see now, why you are so exasperated, I would be as well.This must be so stressful for you.You have a right to medical treatment and to be treated
respectfully.You can report the GP himself,I don't, have the details here but goggle it, I am sure it is easy to find. gosh I feel so angry for you.
I would not let this matter rest, dig your toes in and make more waves.
Dignity and Respect are key principles of the Human Rights Act.
To ensure that the rights of individuals are upheld the key principles of:
Fairness
Respect
Equality
Dignity
Accountability
The British Institute of Human Rights.
It is wrong we are paying dearly for a service that is not giving us what we are paying for......
But forget about the wider population,concentrate on you, and your family,you need all your strength for yourself.
Pass on to others how you are dealing with these insensitive people, leave a path wide enough
for others to follow you.
Start with the Human Rights Act,it is all there.
You have the strength, its between the lines of your blog, don't let them get away with this appalling attitude,ugh
Please keep in touch I would love to hear one day, that you have sorted this out.
Perhaps a GP should be graded, if they don't get the patients, they have to be dropped from the
NHS system, that should keep them on their toes, and why not.
Why should they receive a very good wage, paid by ourselves for sitting on their backsides giving poor patient attention and care.UGH
Look after yourself yorkshiregirl, don't let the stress get to you, I know it is easier said than done.
Yorkshire girl, as a fellow Yorkshire girl I agree with so much of what you say. Maybe there is a conspiracy that your GP shouldn't know too much about you cos then they might empathise and treat us according to how we feel and not according to some formula that a desk bound idiot has come up with. I do wish the NHS would go continental, then we can at least choose to pay for private or state. At the moment we have no choice we have to pay for NHS and then private if we want the right treatment!!.
Think your right. When i had to have an op years ago my GP came to visit me in hospital. There was no technology like computers and stuff yet i can neber remember being stressed going to the doctors or making an appointment. The receptionist even had time to do a spot of cleaning even though records had to be written by hand.
Even in hopspital the nurses worked and nursed under the supervision of the matron. I was in 3 months and the same nurses worked their regular shifts most of them locally trained.
I am lucky that I can book the doctor I like and feel safe with.
The other one is an arrogant egotistical little.........blah,blah,blah, enough said!
I was so desperate that I went privately and had ultrasounds done that showed up 55% to 69% blockage of the left carotid artery.
I brought the reports and photographs of the ultrasounds to him.
He was so angry that he was practically stuttering,and threw the reports all over his desk.
He did nothing about the blockage.
After that I booked with the other doctor,and have since had a spinal op for severe spinal stenosis,(the other doctor said I had aches and pains)...., have seen the cardiologist who did more ultrasounds and said the blockage is 50%,and the statins and blood pressure treatment will be sufficient.,
I have Fibromyalgia/Hypothyroidism,treated with Levothyroxine,and am still symptomatic.
Oh yes, when I was having my surgery,the anaesthitist found that I had 2 leaking heart valves. The first doctor told me I had a heart murmur and gave medication, not even a simple ECG.. Last week I went to see the one I get on well with and he has booked me with the cardiologist.
The truth is,although Dr. No 1 is a nasty idiot , it is all about money in the end. I think they get bonuses when they keep expenses down.So instead of doing investigations,they write out a script,and poor you if you die in the meantime!
Can i get back to you later what you have said is very interesting to me. Having a day out as its my sons 17th brithday today, hes just been diagnosed with asperges and things are very difficult at the moment. Thats another stress asthe diagnosis came from a specialist voluntary organisation and the GP said we need to geta proper diagnosis from the NHS,,what arrogance..does health begingand end with the NHS..i think not.
I'm so mistrustful of doctors now, I sit on frightening symptoms which is crazy. I have such a phobia now of anything medical I can't even collect my repeat prescriptions. Thank goodness I don't live alone and my partner is willing to do this for me.
After 18 years of often abusive, disinterested doctors who know everything about you to diagnose you but don't get up from their chair, I can take no more. I last saw my doctor at Christmas. I explained about some debilitating symptoms such as constant fainting, double vision, and a big lump in my neck that she could feel and did absolutely nothing. I think they are so hell bent on feathering their own nests, sod anyone who needs a referral.
Its terrible that one person has to go through this kind of abuse..my post alone has highlighted several who have expereinced this from the people they rely on for their survival.
Have you heard of the stockholme syndrome...have alook at it..i beleive this is whats happening with the medical profession.
Excellent and eloquent, Yorkshiregirl. It is amusing to watch power hungry people. I've seen store clerks who loved ordering people about when they could. You never know about motives but I am sure people who love violence may want to be in a profession where they can use weapons or child abusers who work in schools or daycare. These predatory people are everywhere I'm afraid and seek ways to implement their narcissism. We have to be on guard to avoid them whenever possible...if possible.
Trust me im a doctor..wev all heard that one....I have a friend with an eating disorder who is being emotionally abused on a weekly basis by a mental health team....they change everything she says, produce support plans that have never been done...she can no longer speak to them without recording the conversations... shes on her own and very vulnerable.
It is a misuse of power, and particularly for someone so vulnerable - an eating disorder often goes with a lock of control of your own life and then to have those in a position of trust use thier control over you is a terrible thing.
Does your freind have anyone that can go with her? I know you said she records the meetings, but as they do not know that, that does not stop thembeing nasty. I try to take my husband with me as often as I can, they often treat me differently when he is there, they are not more helpful, but less dismissive and they do not get so angry with me when I ask questions - mainly becuase he stood up when the doc started shouting at me, and at 6ft4, and 20 stone of muscle, he is rather imposing. He did not say anything, he jsut stood up, and hte doc shut up, too k a breath and then started speaking normally again.
I do feel fro your freind, I am so sorry to hear about her situation, and can only hope she has freinds like you nearby who can spare some time to be with her when she has to go see these terrible people.
My friednd lives in a different county to me as is very isolated. The isolation has come from fear of professionals making her situation worse. Along with her eating dissorder she has a fear of going out alone. The mental health team said they had seen her in a shopping centre on her own. She had to get cctv evidence from the shopping centre which showed she was with her daughter. Its appauling.
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Hashimoto's ords or auto immune thyroiditis 
