Vague clueless GP

[Justliloldme]

Its been a long journey but here it is in a nutshell....

May 2016 - GP says menopause - I say UAT

Sept 2016 - GP refers me to endo

Nov 2016 - I start self medicating with thyroid s & feel 100% time better

Oct 17 - Endo takes 8 tubes of blood & 2 x 24hr urine tests & diagnoses me with CFS. Obviously thyroid looks ok because I am self medicating. But I get sent back to GP to refer me to CFS clinic

Dec 17 - I see the (a different) GP & take him though the whole story and tell him I don't have CFS. He 'looks' like he agrees and asks how I know I'm not over medicating - because I pay for my own blood tests to monitor my TSH, FT3, FT4 etc - he looks like he isn't quite sure what I'm talking about!

I say the ideal scenario for me would be for me to carry on self medicating & for the GP practice to run my bloods every 6 months or so. He said they wouldn't be able to do that if they weren't prescribing the medication.

I said my only other option would be to gradually stop the NDT, go back to how I was when I first came in in May 2016 & hope that my TSH is high enough for them to treat me. But, to be honest I really don't want to go back to feeling like that. GP replied 'hhhmmmm'

I told him I'd asked other GP for a trial of Levo when my TSH was 3.4 but was told I'd get Graves if she gave me anything - obviously not true!

Anyway, the GPs response was 'I suggest you carry on with what you are doing & come & see us if you're feeling unwell'

I'm not sure he saw the irony in that statement - the whole reason I'm in this situation is because I went to see them when I was unwell & they did nothing!

I just thought I'd share that with you all because it's thanks to the amazing advise on here that I'm feeling so good.

So thank you all so much & I hope you all have a happy & healthy Christmas

[Hidden]

So if you stop self-medicating, allow your symptoms to return/increase, it's better that the NHS meets the cost of repeated visits back to the GP and/or to Consultants, the cost of hospital investigations, various and numerous blood tests etc etc etc, than you self-medicating and the NHS paying for just blood tests. Yes, it's that sort of logic that explains many of the NHS problems ....

And as for unwarranted thyroid hormone supplementation allegedly causing Graves, that's truly worrying.

[Justliloldme in reply to Hidden]

It's all been a bit worrying to be honest, so much misinformation. I ended up leaving the surgery in tears after one appointment as the GP who I think was trying to be compassionate said 'As a woman, I'm sure when I'm your age, I'll feel just as bad as you do now'. She was convinced it was the menopause despite tests coming back saying it wasn't!

I've always been a big advocate of the NHS (still am really) but I've never really needed them for other than asthma & childbirth till now & I feel totally let down by them. Thank goodness for everyone on here.

[Clutter in reply to Justliloldme]

Justliloldme,

GP didn't believe menopause blood tests that said you weren't menopausal but presumably believes you are not hypothyroid because thyroid blood tests said you weren't? Nice to know some GPs can pick and choose which blood tests to believe!

[Justliloldme in reply to Clutter]

I know! Apparently hormones go up & down when you're in the menopause so if she'd have tested me the next day it probably would have shown that I was - her words not mine.

The mind truly boggles at just how bad this woman is! The other GP was clueless but at least he wasn't making stuff up.