LTC..[ long term conditions test] at my surgery 🙄

[birkie]

Hi everyone ❤️

Just wanted to post this little ditty, just had my LTC appointment this morning the nurse was lovely she did my BP, heart rate , oxygen, asked questions like..do you exercise frequently..😂 I bloody wish.

And the rest..smoke, drink which I don't.

Now for the blood draws..I took my little list out my pocket which consisted of..

PTH, calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, phosphate [ for primary hyperparathyroidism]

TSH, T3, T4 ..[ for thyroid hormone levels] I have no thyroid and are on NDT a combination of T4, T3]

Kidney function test

FBC...with B12, ect.. I showed her my list👍

OK now this is when the stuff hit the fan..the nurse popped them on to the computer and after a few minutes she proceeded to tell me certain bloods will not be done..😡

Them being ...vitamin D...cholesterol, B12..😲

Also thyroid would probably only be TSH😡

Magnesium and phosphate may be refused😡

So.. I get my soap box out, and very nicely tell her " I have 3 Long term conditions which require full bloods

Firstly TSH will tell the doctor nothing about my thyroid levels, T3 and T4 are the actual hormones

Secondly to diagnose primary hyperparathyroidism or to monitor it you must do the full test..PTH, calcium, vit D ,magnesium [ because magnesium is depleted in PHPT as is phosphate]

My GP as put me on a loading dose of vitamin D..

The poor woman..of course it wasn't her fault, she told me the labs have a right to refuse certain bloods and a notification as come back with refusal for the ones she mentioned 🙄

I said.." what's the point of this appointment then?

I have 3 long term conditions I'm here to have my bloods checked 🤦‍♀️

I asked her could she override it by stating these bloods are for ongoing long term conditions, and this patient as primary hyperparathyroidism which needs all bloods done, along with her thyroid bloods as she is on T3, T4 therapy .

She typed away, then said " well let's hope that works"

And I said.." well ..if they miss out the key bloods I'll be back down to get them done again, at more cost to the nhs🤷‍♀️

She apologised saying "it's awful the amount of paperwork we have to do just for blood work, and the fact the labs can refuse to do important bloods"

I said.." no lab should be able to refuse blood tests if a GP requests them👍

So...let's see what happens 🤔 honestly no wonder the NHS aren't working for patients 😡

[DippyDame]

Keep at then birkie!

The NHS is falling apart.

I've been more or less in bed with Chronic Sinusitis ( there was me thinking that's just the sniffles.....instead it sure is the pits)

Ambulance guys decided to take me to A& E....struggling to breathe.....checked vitals there and numbers were OK so I was eventually discharged feeling like death warmed up. A snippy nurse shouted at me, " Your numbers are good, you are well...do you hear me!" I hadn't the strength to respond in my usual way.

Same old story as with thyroid issues....they don't know where to look beyond numbers

It's been 3 months now and my GP has no answers. It's beginning to affect both my sight and my hearing....and I'm in bed most of the time. At 79 I don't have time to waste on clowns!!

Still waiting ( 5 days) for a call back from the GP but not expecting much help. He said he'd talk to a specialist....we'll see!

The old doctors had a much better approach and I felt safe with them.....not with today's lot!

Sorry about the rant birkie.....I very much sympathise with you and wish you well

You are 100% correct...

no wonder the NHS aren't working for patients 😡

DD

[birkie in reply to DippyDame]

I can totally sympathise with you DD, I got much the same treatment in 2023 my heart rate was very high I was vomiting and sure my calcium had gone way over..it was 2.63 on my bloods done not 2wks previous.

Ambulance crew came in to my house gave me the usual tests said my blood pressure was high...but not high enough to be admitted , all stats apart from BP looked ok😡

I mentioned the fact I have primary hyperparathyroidism, and I reckon my calcium as gone over, I was told to see my GP the next day, fat lot of good that was ....no appointments available 😡

The NHS are a shambles ...as I said to my GP recently " why don't you just get me to a surgeon to remove the Adenoma you know I've got one by my blood work"..no we'll just keep you unwell send you to lots of useless specialists costing the NHS a fortune...they have absolutely no idea do they 😡😡😡

[Rapunzel]

FFSakes birkie what a FUBAR. How can it be right that a department full of white coats and phlebotomists has more to say about what blood tests to do than a freaking nurse who has the patient right in front of her? What can they tell from a vacutainer of blood what tests need doing? For we thyroidies, this is a disaster, never mind comorbidities.

And DippyDame A snippy nurse shouted at me, " Your numbers are good, you are well...do you hear me!" Call yourself a nurse? You wretched f*ck. Jog on, Ratched. That's almost word for word what my GP said, a dozen or more years ago. How dare anyone suggest we are well when we know we're ill?

Both of these responses show what a clusterf*ck the NHS has become. 🤬 We pay for this debacle. Acute issue? Step this way. Chronic condition? You're on your own.

Best wishes to both for better outcomes, without, I have to say, a shred of confidence that will happen.

[birkie in reply to Rapunzel]

What made me angry was the fact... I woke up feeling like 💩 I'd sweated bad though night with awful bone vibrations 😖 didn't get much sleep, what with 5 toilet trips...I'm really thinking of moving my bloody bed into the bathroom or getting my commode out the attic.In other words I really didn't want to go, but I had to..but to be told certain bloods would not be done , given I was there for a LONG TERM CONDITION is negligence, how the hell can they monitor my LTC if they don't do all relivent bloods?

Who the hell decides this?

But yeah I won't hold my breath they all get done, as the terminator says.." I'll be back"....to have them done again 👍

[Sparklingsunshine in reply to birkie]

It makes you wonder why they bother doing LTC reviews, well I know why, they get extra bonuses if they do them. However doing a half arsed job as usual, or even quarter arsed makes them utterly pointless.

[arTistapple in reply to Sparklingsunshine]

Not quite pointless. They get paid. They get to keep their jobs. They get to feel righteous. They can choose to go on a ‘go slow’ without anyone noticing. We still pay our taxes whether or not we get appropriate treatment. It’s highway robbery, not just lousy service.

[serenfach]

I actually phoned up the lab (the number was on the results, presumably for the GP and they dont expect patients to get print outs) and pointed out that not doing the test then and there would cost less than me waiting for an Endo appointment and him asking for the tests, and them having to do the test anyway. The woman on the other end of the phone was absolutely lovely, and obviously angry that the "word from on high" not to test T3 is daft. It was the Health Board decision.

The Health Board then got a snippy letter asking why they wanted to save pennies not testing T3 along with TSH and T4, and did they know the harm they were doing? I got a mealy mouthed letter back saying they would look into it....

[birkie in reply to serenfach]

I'd love to be a fly on the wall when a GP is being diagnosed as possibility having a thyroid problem, I wonder if he/she would accept the labs only doing a TSH test?

Me thinks NOT...🤔

[Rapunzel]

pulsetoday.co.uk/news/pract...

Venal sh!ts.

[birkie in reply to Rapunzel]

No surprise there Rapunzel 🤷‍♀️Seems like they don't trust the very institution they work for , wish I could afford private health care...if I had 6/ 7 thousand the surgeon in Oxford said he would do 4 gland exploration....the NHS....no were not doing that..😡😡😡