What to do now?? ("Normal")

[DumbBlonde]

Saw a(nother) GP a couple of weeks ago.... This time (ha!) I was worried about my apparent increased heart-rate.

As I menioned at the time - and it is no doubt noted on record - that I THINK that I have a thyroid issue, he did offer to

get bloods done and also an ECG. Usual tests - inc TFT, LFT, CRP and another on (BNP?) for the heart.

I saw Dr P in May and am trying to follow his protocol for adrenals as he was sure that they are not in good shape. But I worried that the Nutri Adrenal Extra might be causing the heart ?palpitations?.

After the ECG yesterday, the GP called me (this is how it works now at the Practice I belong to) to tell me that everything is NORMAL, both on th ECG and the blood tests. He would not even tell me the results in numbers/units, let alone reference ranges or where in the range the results were - just NORMAL - as is, thankfully, the ECG, although now he wants - to be sure - to get an Echocardiogram (which I shall probably not bother with). This is 100% to keep me quiet, I know it.

To add insult to injury, he likened the situation to a car going for repair and that I must "trust the mechanic", most escpecially as, and I quote, "I may be wrong but I am sure that you haven't had the twelve years training that I have to be able to understand these results in context".

So, pretty much, I am stupid car.

Seriously, where the Hell do I turn if I can't even get to see the results (which I have been given previously, hence knowing that I did have low ferritin and that the TSH was following an upward trend)?

I must be bloody invincible, considering the way I feel and yet there is "nothing wrong".

[rosetrees]

You are entitled to a copy of your results and he cannot refuse to let you have them. Try phoning the receptionist and asking politely if you can have a print out. They may just print them out for you without a problem.

If that doesn't work, a short letter politely requesting them and pointing out that you are entitled to them should do the trick.

[DumbBlonde in reply to rosetrees]

Hi rosetrees

I have a nasty feeling that they won't let me have themon his say-so.

The Practice is in tuurmoil due to some building going on, which means that they

are even less nicely-mannered than usual.

He was really really talking down to me, it was awful, even on the phone.

I have already got an application to see all my records (well, since 2010) in place. That request prompted a call from the Practice Manager asking me why I wanted them and he then told me that

the request would be "added to the pile that Julie has to do". Maybe, if I'm lucky and the P/Mngr keeps his word, these latest tests will be included...

The fact remains that nothing has changed, I am no better but have nowhere left to turn now.

(Rant over.)

[rosetrees in reply to DumbBlonde]

It takes about 30s to print out results, maybe 3mins in total if "Julie" has to find them first. See if you can pick a quiet(ish) time in the day, when your doctors aren't running clinics, and call in. She might print them out while you wait, to shut you up!

Even my IT phobic GP has a printer on his desk. Click print and he can hand me the results. Mostly he doesn't have to as the receptionists know I will ask and print them for me.

As for seeing your records. They might consider what mine did. They let me use an empty room and gave me my records to look at. I took a camera and photographed the ones I wanted. Saves them mountains of photocopying and hours of time.

[DumbBlonde in reply to rosetrees]

Exactly!!

I have printouts of all tests prior to this, which were so helpful, necessary even, when I saw Dr P.

The thing is - I don't eat well/much at all/certainly vegetarian but have cut out - well, almost everything. I don't sleep well and am under enoromous personal - unchangeable - stress. But yay - the blood tests are normal, so I am "all right" - well, why does anyone ever need to do anything much at all then if I can do so little and yet be, by their yardstick, "healthy"?

(Rhetorical question....)

:o(

[Hidden]

This link gives you the information you need about your right to access your test results etc

nhs.uk/chq/pages/1309.aspx?...

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

And having been fleeced last year by my local garage, I wouldn't absolutely trust either a doctor or a mechanic ......

[DumbBlonde in reply to Hidden]

Yes, I didn't like to point out that there are a lot of dodgy mechanics/garages :o/

I am classed as a Grade A hypochondriac - part of why I made the request to see "all" my

notes.

[Hidden in reply to DumbBlonde]

You should have done, lol. He sounds like a real self-serving GenPracnob

[shaws in reply to DumbBlonde]

It's terrible that patients who aren't getting answers are 'labelled' as hypochondriacs or depressive, etc etc.

I hope you persevere - he cannot refuse to give you a copy. If he wont write to your MP.

[DumbBlonde in reply to shaws]

*shrinks*

I don't want to rub him up the wrong way. I seem to do it all the time.

[shaws in reply to DumbBlonde]

Well, he's not doing his job properly. Does he just expect you to sit back and continue to be unwell. You should have the echocardiogram.

Then you can say that undermedication may well have caused the problem (hopefully you haven't any). This is an extract - cursor to date June 28, 2001:-

I want to emphasize that the TSH test has nothing whatever to do with guarding a patient’s cardiac safety. To infer that a patient has cardiac over-stimulation because the TSH level is low is scientifically unjustified and logically unsound. It is ludicrous for a doctor to make this inference when he can easily and directly monitor how the patient’s heart is responding.

Let me emphasize another important point: Some conventional endocrinologists have grossly exaggerated the cardiac risks of TSH-suppressive doses of thyroid hormone. When compared to replacement doses of thyroid hormone, TSH-suppressive doses are not associated with an increased incidence of ischemic heart disease. In fact, TSH-suppressive doses of thyroid hormone protect the heart. TSH-suppressive dosages lower the levels of blood fats more than replacement doses do. And higher-end doses of thyroid hormone can halt the progression of coronary artery disease. In patients who don’t have coronary artery disease, myocardial ischemia and/or infarction are rare even in those who are thyrotoxic. Moreover, restricting many patients to replacement doses predisposes them to cardiovascular disease and premature death.

web.archive.org/web/2010103...

[Clutter]

Dumblonde, patients are entitled to see their test results and their full medical records under the Data Protection Act. Write to the practice manager saying you are making a subject access request for your recent test results and will accept them via a printout or email. If they're dragging their feet over the full medical records make another subject access request which stipulates 40 days in which to provide them.

ico.org.uk/for_the_public/p...

[DumbBlonde in reply to Clutter]

I have always been given them before, it would be so much easier if he had just said,"Yes" - rather than "Why do you want them? Do you know what you are looking at?" and then his put-down.... all of which turned me into a stammering idiot.

[Clutter in reply to DumbBlonde]

Dumblonde, patients don't have to reveal why they want their results/records but a simple "for my own records" will suffice. As for "do you know what you are looking at?" how can you until you see what is there?. Tell him not to be impertinent. As for not wanting to rub him up the wrong way, why would you care?. He's being difficult about providing you results/records to do with YOUR health. Don't let him intimidate you now and you'll not have problems in the future.

[Hidden in reply to Clutter]

Plus I think the answer to "do you know what you're looking at is, 'yes, I do, actually. I've had to become a specialist in thyroid conditions because you GPs with 12 years of experience seem to know diddly squat.'

No. I wouldn't dare say it either, but it's fun thinking about it. {sigh}

[Hidden]

Only personal choice of course,but if it were me and was offered an echocardiogram,I would take advantage of having it done if only for peace of mind.It is A LOT more detailed and shows far more than just the usual ecg

[DumbBlonde in reply to Hidden]

Yes, I see your point ::o)

Am not keen to go through the procedure though (had one a few years ago) and am

almost reaching the point of being past caring what happens to me anyway.

:o(