Patients’ experiences of presenting health information from the internet in GP consultations

[lynmynott]

The first in-depth qualitative study has been done looking at what happens when patients take information from the internet to their GP. Read more about this:

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/news.h...

[Triciatextiles]

Lyn

This is interesting but not a surprise to me - My GP is also my husbands - both of us have hypo - my husband has been ill for years, the last three very ill with 'ME' I challenged his GP and asked for a endo referral for him to trial T3. He was not happy. He wrote to the endo that I 'had been reading the internet' as if to infer that the internet was all a waste of time.

He was patronsing and my relationship is well and truely damaged with him. He wont listen even when my husband went back to him and told him how much better he felt on T3 only but felt he needed a slight increase in dose. His response? tested for TSH, ignored his request for in increase. He has even wrote on his medical records that his ME was a response to coping with me!!! all this because I challenged him and wanted my husband to have a T3 trial - which I believed - and i have been proved right- that T4 didnt work and he had a conversion issue.

Tricia

[marram]

I think the truth is that doctors feel threatened by a patient who is clearly knowledgeable about his/her condition. I took some backup information with me yesterday when I was asking him to increase my Levothyroxine (unlike many here I seem to have been OK on T4 while it was at a high enough dosage). Some was from the internet and I also took Dr Toft's book. It was Dr Toft's book which swung it in my favour - that, and bloody-minded persistence. I think, though, that my relationship with him may have been damaged, too. I go back after 3 months at the increased dosage. We'll see.

[Throid]

My GP is absolutely great and will listen to me and tries to help as best he can. Endocrinologists are a different breed in my personal experience and will listen to nothing as they know best.

They seem happy to leave you to cope with the most awful symptoms and are very scathing about information gleaned on the internet. I have found them very scathing about thyroid support groups.

I have to add though that given my experiences of another thyroid support group this may be for good reason.

[lynmynott Partner Thyroid UK]

I went to the House of Commons to an APPG Evidence Session again yesterday. The discussions were about how can they change the mindset of clinicians about shared decision making and how can awareness be raised about the NHS Constitution which includes a right of shared decision making. At least something is actively being done now....