Dumped my GP today

[Kilgh]

This is a longish story but an educational one.

Last year my GP I had been seeing for 20 years retired and his practice was bought by another doctor. I have seen her a few times and thought she was not very good but as I usually only go there for minor things I haven't been that fussed.

And then I got properly sick for the first time.

I went into my GP after suffering for days with severe stomach cramps. A new symptom I have never had before. The cramps were happening about every two hours. Day and Night. I was in a lot of pain, and wasn't eating or sleeping. Had tried Buscopan and Panadol (Acetaminophen) with absolutely zero relief.

My Gastro is still on holiday until Monday. So, I went down to my GP in between spasms. I got rushed through a consult (10 mins) as usual where she said "you have an ulcer." And chucked another brand of anti spasmodic and PPI at me.

Now, she did not take my vitals (to watch for raised blood pressure or tachycardia), check for fever (signs of infection) or give me a physical exam to check for stomach guarding (an indication that an ulcer might have perforated) or to check for tenderness, rebound tenderness or anything else.

She did not ask about any other symptoms like nausea, diarrhea, bloody stool, back pain, dizziness etc.

She also did not warn me if certain symptoms did turn up or if the pain got even worse I should go to an emergency room.

These are the very basics of a consult for the symptoms I was experiencing.

I asked about pain relief and was told I didn't need anything as the anti-spasmodic would sort it.

24 hours later and no change in my symptoms, another day and night of lying prone with a hot wheat bag. (I now have a new respect for the hot wheat bag treatment!) Day 5 of being like this looming I rang my GP's office and reported the anti-spasmodic had not worked and I was in serious pain still. What next?

The medical receptionist (very nice person) assured me she would ask the doctor as soon as she finished with her current consult.

Over 3 hours (or two spasms) later I had heard nothing so rang back. The receptionist was surprised the doctor had not rung me back. Said she would talk to the doctor again.

About another hour later I finally get a call. And it was a weird one. The doctor immediately seemed annoyed with me. I told her I had no change in my symptoms. She asked if I had been taking my anti-spasmodic "properly". I said, yes. She then said "you are on Pregabalin. Why was that prescribed for you? Why isn't that stopping your pain?" In a really accusatory voice. I was thinking A) You know why I am on Pregabalin. We talked about this yesterday, you have the report from my Specialist. B) How do you not know that Pregabalin is only effective for nerve pain? That all other studies have shown it to be ineffective in the treatment of acute pain? C) I have been on the drug for a month so if it was going to be effective against these stomach cramps I wouldn't be having these stomach cramps in the first place!

Anyway, after that small rant from her I asked is there anything else she can do for this pain. She said "no, I can't help you with the pain. Ask your Specialist to deal with your pain when he gets back. It's only 4 or 5 days away". And then said goodbye.

I decided right then that if I was still in pain overnight I was going to the after hours emergency clinic in my area and ask for some help.

Which I ended up doing at about 1am (NZT) this morning. I saw a great doctor who took my vitals, gave me a physical exam, asked if I had nausea, bloody stools, diarrhea, headache, answered my concern as to whether it was safe to wait for further investigation until my Gastro got back, (he was pretty sure I could wait based on my stable vitals and lack of stomach guarding but went through a list of symptoms that I should come straight back for if they occurred.) and had absolutely no hesitation prescribing me with pain relief (and explained about any side effects I might experience from them). He gave me four tablets to take away right then to get me through the rest of the night and a script to get me through until my Gastro returns.

And after the longest consult I have experienced since the new GP bought my local practice he gave me a discount for a "short consult"!

While I was paying my bill I saw they had a normal hours practice on site that was accepting new patients. So decided right then to dump my GP and sign up with these people.

Took my pain relief, with slight nervousness as I never had a painkiller more powerful the an over the counter one in my whole life. Had no side effects but a bit of drowziness and for the first time in 6 days I had no pain and managed to sleep for 6 hours straight and in a position other than on my back with the heat bag clutched to my gut.

So, got up this morning, took my second painkiller, and walking upright with ease, went to my GP to pick up an Omeprazole script. The usual receptionist was not on. Which was a pity as I wanted to say goodbye to her. The doctor was around and asked me if I was feeling better. I restricted myself to a polite "yes, thank you, because I went to the emergency doctors in the wee hours of the morning and finally got some pain relief and got some sleep for the first time in 6 days".

She gave me a sympathetic look of "oh, you poor thing" and then said my prescription for the Omeprazole was free today.

I left, went down and enrolled with the new practice.

So, today this GP will be getting a notice that I am no longer their patient. Maybe they will connect the dots and learn from this. As to why she refused to help me I can't say. Or why she was so annoyed with me.

It can't be because she thinks I'm a drug seeker surely. All she had to do was look at my 20 years plus practice records to see I have never asked for or been prescribed a painkiller ever before. I have never been in this much pain before. I now have an inkling of what it must be like to be in the early stages of labour!

So, anyway, to anyone I have ever advised to not put up with poor medical treatment, I took my own advice. My now former GP is dangerously incompetent and erratic and I no longer felt safe or respected under her care. I therefore had no choice but to move on.

[Hidden]

I know where you are coming from. There are two Drs at our practice that I refuse to see. One who in her first week at the practice refused my request to see an endo without even looking at my notes and the other who rang me three days before Christmas a couple of years ago and asked me did I think I had ovarian cancer!! I must have been the only person in the area to lose weight that Christmas! Consultant horrified when I told him, wrote a very strong letter to the practice after all what would a couple of days have mattered before phoning me.

D

[Kilgh in reply to Hidden]

Seriously. I know GPs are overworked in my country but to take shortcuts in patient safety and forget you are dealing with actual human beings and not just a patient number is unacceptable.

[Linley]

Thank you Kilgh, it is indeed a lesson to be learnt. So sorry you were in unnecessary pain for all those days. I am most fortunate that my GP has always listened to me. In fact when I last visited his surgery for something unrelated to IBS, he called me to one side and said he was training a junior doctor and would I mind if she interviewed me about my confirmed IBS as a case study. She asked me all the basic elimination questions( that your new GP asked) and your old GP should have asked. Pleased things have improved for you.

[tigga]

Hi, im doubled up for 6+hrs every day (with a hot water bottle)Had loads of tests/scans camera etc,plus under the pain clinic & Gastro,no diagnosis from either apart from being told i dont have IBS & Ive got pain induced depression( no surprise there) i take Oramorph,paracetamol,Gabapentin,Amitripylene to no avail,feel like im not living ,just existing.May i ask which painkiller you were given Kilgh?

[Bellyboy13 in reply to tigga]

Sounds awful, what symptoms do you have Constipated or D ? I have started taking CBD oil, can’t say I’ve noticed any improvement yet, but many people on the CBD UK facebook site say it really helps. Maybe go on the site, the people are very friendly and helpful. I have lots of D and stomach, colon pain & bloating. Kefir can help, peppermint tea and I’ve just started taking charcoal tablets and they have helped with the D and released some of the bloating. I’ve only been on them 3 days so I am hopeful. My GP gives me codydramol for pain, but you have to watch it does not cause constipation because of the codeine. Good luck

[tigga in reply to Bellyboy13]

Thank you for asking,i have severe low abdominal pain AFTER a bowel movement ,which docs find hard to understand,its usually relief after.Im not D ,im on Laxido (1 a day) & Docusate 2x3times a day.Ithink i would have C If i didnt take these,wishing you good luck with the Cbd oil,im a bit confused about the strengths if the oil ,so i will look at the web site you mentioned.

[Hidden in reply to tigga]

If you know the rough time when you go to the loo you could give yourself a dissolvable co codamol tablet 15 minutes before, to prevent the pain . When I had severe pain, I took 2 co codamol to help the pain on the advice from pharmacist. You can always check if is safe to take the pain killer with the drugs you are on with your pharmacist. Could the pain be to do with trapped wind?

[tigga in reply to Hidden]

Not tried Cocdamol ,think its prescription only? Willing to try anything!Would you say a dissolvable co codamol would be better than a tablet?Really appreciate your advice !

[Hidden in reply to tigga]

No you can buy it over the counter - have read some other posts saying they have been helped by it and one person had a son who was a doctor who recommended it for the pain of IBS.

[Hidden in reply to Bellyboy13]

Heh Bellyboy - have you had food intolerance tests? I had a test run by local pharmacy

Alphega linked and the symptoms of bloating, distension and loo visits changed. I had to change my diet radically to cut out all those potential foods which were crating histamines and gas in the gut. I've had IBS for over thirty years - but a change in diet has definitely helped though it may not be the only cause as IBS is stress linked.

[Bellyboy13 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you. No I have not had food intolerance tests. How do they test? Heard the hair strand tests were not medically proven.

[Hidden in reply to Bellyboy13]

Do you live in the Uk? If you live in the US there is an app by Foodmarble called Aire which is a breath test, which screens foods and gives you a response as to what foods are affecting you. Amazon.com has a self testing kit for 64 different foods which looks similar to the smart test I had at a chemist. My test was from Germany introduced in the UK in January 2018 through certain chemists. It cost £70. If you go to your doctor they might give a recommendation of someone who does food intolerance tests privately. If you live in the Uk or in France Germany Belgium you can find Alphega chemists on their website. They have a map - the

chemists in your area are marked. You have to go through the individual branches in your area for their details to find the services they provide and if they do allergy testing.

[Bellyboy13 in reply to Hidden]

I live in the UK so I will check this out. Thank you for your kind support.

[Kilgh in reply to tigga]

Tramadol. For short term use only as it is addictive. But sounds like you are on morphine anyway. And puts my pain into perspective. I can't believe they haven't found your pain cause. Where is your pain at? Is it pelvic? And possibly gynaecological in nature?

[Hidden in reply to tigga]

Hi Tigga are you in the UK? If so have you had tests for celiac disease, which includes tests for some food intolerances such as gluten dairy and egg. The difficulty is that multigrain and other food intolerances are not recognised as a source of problems with your gut.

Some overloading with histamine foods, such as multi grain dairy and egg and others can lead to pain, bloating and discomfort. You don't seem to have had tests for celiac disease which is a form of autoimmune disease. Gluten intolerance is recognised as being associated with Hashimotos thyroid disease, and can be linked to celiac disease and other autoimmune diseases such as diabetes. I found out I had multigrain allergy dairy and egg and banana food intolerances. Wheat was indicated but I am not gluten intolerant so when I had a gluten test my tests came back as normal!

[tigga in reply to Hidden]

Hi,yes im in the UK,Im not 100% sure but have heard food intolerance tests are not available on the NHS? ive also read reviews of the York test which people thought was inaccurate & expensive too.May i ask where you had the food intolerance test?Iso pleased you have had some relief!Re testing for Celiac ,ive had lots of blood tests & presume ive been tested for that,ive an appointment next month with Gastro so ill double check that.Ireally appreciate your helpful suggestions,so kind hawii60

[Hidden in reply to tigga]

Hi Tigga - there's an interesting article at written by Suzy Cohen - titled

Allergies and Your Genes - Histamine Autoimmunity and DAO SNPs.

website is suzy.cohen.com I think.

Other autoimmune disease such as fibromyalgia may be linked to food intolerances. Glad you are going to mention your queries to your GI.

The test I had was through the Alphega chain of pharmacists. You can look up

their branches on a map for your area. The numbers on red balloons can be individually checked for services provided at the individual branch, which will list

food allergies. You might have to cross counties to find a branch which does the test but it is a new test from Germany, which cost £70. It tests for a range of 64 foods including different nuts, grains, legumes, fruit egg dairy. As you know grains such as barley and wheat are in alcohol, and in beer. barley malt is in foods, and vinegars, which can be in crisps, maltesers and beer and marmite mayonnaise.

That's why it is trial and error if the labels don't disclose full ingredients.

Usually if I have a problem I can track it back to something I've eaten.

Other problems such as bacterial overgrowth in the colon such as sibo which is a fungal infection can mimic some of the symptoms of gastrointestinal disease, but most NHS don't do tests for sibo or candida - so you might have to ask for them.

DAO enzyme inhibitor which can be genetic can be helped by supplements. It can be associated with copper and zinc deficiency. Eating plain chocolate can help

levels of both zinc and copper if you have a deficiency. Suzy Cohen mentions enzyme deficiency in her article.

[tigga in reply to Hidden]

Thanks again for more useful info,will look into Suzy Cohen sounds promising.

[tigga]

Hi,ive had Tramadol in the past ,didnt work! Ive been to Gne/Urology & only saw a nurse ,who gave me a scan, then told me i didnt need to see a Doctor?Had 2 nerve pain injections /acupuncture .Im at my wits end had this pain for 3years,im hoping someone on here could suggest anything ive spent a fortune on probiotics/prebiotics/colon cleanse/herbal teas/magnesium.ive a Gastro appointment on 14th feb,,told me last time theres not much can be done,hoping to find a miracle cure(not).I very much appreciate you replying to me ,feel less alone.Please let me know how you get along with theCBD oil.

[Kilgh in reply to tigga]

I would try the Gyn thing again if this sounds like you:

healthlinkbc.ca/health-topi...

[tigga]

Thank you ,the most informative site ive seen ,& i can identify with the symptoms & may have to accept i may never get a diagnosis ,if i could get the pain level down from 9/10 to maybe 4 or 5/10 id be much happier!Wishing you well Kilgh.

[Fruitandnutcase]

Good for you. Hopefully you will have good care from now on.

[Kilgh in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Seeing my new GP today. Hopefully that goes well.

[Angie2020]

First of all, so sorry you are going through so much pain and illness. Have you been tested for h pylori?It's a bacteria that lives in your gut, usually harmless but when your immune system is down or you're ill, the bacteria can multiply and take over causing erosion and ulcers in the gut, which then stops you absorbing nutrients which then causes deficiencies, which then causes a whole host of symptoms from reflux to asthma and allergies and auto immune diseases like fibromyalgia. You have to heal your gut and the rest will follow. PPI's are ok short term but they don't fix the problem. You have to encourage stomach acid and not reduce it. Google my gutsy.com and you should be able to find all the info on there to heal your leaky gut. I was anemic from h pylori because it robs iron stores from your gut. It secretes and enzyme that neutralises your stomach acid so it can lives safely in your gut. It bores holes into your gut lining, causing ulcers and bleeding. I nearly had to have a blood transfusion. I lost loads of weight and looked amaciated. I had anxiety,palpitations, all over body pain, dry skin, canker sores in my mouth, ear pain, rhinitis, constant bloating, reflux, migraines, extreme fatigue, depression, etc etc etc the list goes on. I was so ill, I thought I had cancer. This bacteria causes untold damage to the body. Start juicing raw cabbage to heal your stomach red or purple or green cabbage 8 oz twice a day for as many weeks as you can handle and go from there. There's loads of natural herbs and supplements you can take to boost your immune system and heal your gut. Make kefir which is so simple and heals the gut by restoring friendly bacteria. Do some reasearch and start now. It will be some months before you start to feel better but it's worth it. I am proof that you can heal naturally and keep this horrible bacteria away or at least at bay. Good luck

[Hidden in reply to Angie2020]

Hi Angie - that's an awful problem - The H pylori bacteria as you know can be treated by certain anti biotics. To have such a gut problem leading to ulcers is not acceptable .

Have had a bad period of health, and from bits of research have discovered that olive oil and extra virgin olive oil, can help reduce the h pylori bacteria and help prevent certain viruses. Coconut oil is also said to help certain viruses. I make a salad dressing with olive oil and a teaspoon of cider vinegar mixed with honey and melt some coconut oil to add to dressings or casseroles. I think it has helped my immune system but still have to watch infections as I am diabetic. Sometimes GPs send you away even though you know you are feeling ill. I looked up olive oil for h pylori through Bing search and found information on different websites.

[Angie2020 in reply to Hidden]

I forgot to add that I've eradicated it the natural way with natural products like monolaurin from coconut and other stuff. They offered me antibiotics but have you seen how many you have to take. It's ridiculous! I feel great now and no antibiotics at all

[Hidden in reply to Angie2020]

You are so right Angie - I agree monolaurin in coconut oil and olive oil do have a possible preventative effect against some bacteria and viruses. It needs more research with trials to make the information valid.

[Kilgh in reply to Angie2020]

My new GP has put me on Pharmaceutical grade supplements. Starting with a Magnesium/B vit combo. I hate PPIs since my first experience with them 1 year ago. Made me sicker than the original "possible" ulcer pain. But with that level of pain this time being so bad, needed to get my acid down to prevent a perforation. Already have halved the dose now that the pain is better and will see what my Gastro says tomorrow. As soon as I get a proper diagnosis my GP is standing by with another doctor only supplement to repair the PPI damage as well as the ulcer damage. I had an H.Pylori blood test done last year. Came back negative. But the blood test can be inaccurate. So she has sent me for a fecal one.

I have been eating restricted or nothing for about 4 months now, so my nutrition is probably poor. That needs to change.

In terms of natural products. I live in NZ so have access to activated Manuka Honey which has been shown to be effective against H.Pylori. If I have it.

[Angie2020 in reply to Kilgh]

Go on a natural anti pylori diet. Google list of things that kill pylori and heal leaky gut and add them to your diet. You will feel better within a few months. All the best to you

[Kilgh in reply to Angie2020]

Still don't know if I even have it yet. First test said no.

[Angie2020 in reply to Kilgh]

My first test was negative and I had a stomach biopsy. They discharged me even though I was having symptoms. Anyway my symptoms got worse and the weight fell off so I had to go through the whole process of being referred again and another camera down the throat and another set of tests. This time it came back positive. I'd had it all along so even biopsies aren't foolproof

[Kilgh in reply to Angie2020]

Yeah. I am waiting on a second test. And probably a third with my endoscopy.

[Hidden]

Think you made the right decision. All that pain and no pain killer prescribed.

I had a really bad bout of pain with IBS and finally got my husband to ask the pharmacist

to see if there was something to help. She recommended co-codomol which I've never tried thinking paracetamol would work. It was brilliant - I took the maximum dose for several days and felt much better.

[Kilgh in reply to Hidden]

New GP is so far much better. Has an actual plan. And is wanting a proper diagnosis before prescribing any drugs. Also she is German. So should be efficient. lol.

[Hidden in reply to Kilgh]

You've fallen on your feet - someone wo is thorough! Congratulations!

[Kilgh in reply to Hidden]

I think most of them are. This was an aberration.