Don't waist time with GP's

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mattf1977

Joined
Aug 7, 2011
Messages
15
Hi all,
I am pretty new to this forum, but I have noticed a lot of people have problems with slow diagnosis and wrong treatment from GP's.
I live in the UK and first saw my GP when I was 17 after my first flare up of Crohns. It took 3 months of being extremely I'll and losing 45lbs before being refurred to the Gastronomic specialist at my local NHS hospital. Once I was under the care of the right people, I had all the right tests done quickley and treatment followed quickly and a lucky 9 year remission.
On my second flare up at 26 I went to my GP and insisted on being referred to the Gastronomy specialist at the hospital and this time my treatment was so quick I did not need to suffer as much as before.
I just want to encourage people to not waist time with GP's as they are not the ones who need to treat you. If your GP won't refer you go to A+E and tell them you think you have Crohns and are in servers pain. They will most likely keep you in overnight and you will see the gastro team the next day. They will then set up treatment and the right tests immediately. This is what I done for my 3rd flare which happened last week as the pain was quit sudden (another 9 year remission, im 35 now) and IV steroids started the next day.
Please, please be pushy and get the treatment you need and don't waste time.
 
If it wasn't for my gp I would not have gotten along as good as I have done. He works me in and when needed started necessary medications or hospital care. My gi and pcp work togetherclose now that I am on humaria. My first call is always to my pcp
 
Hi mattf1977 and welcome. Maybe this is an English phenomenon because I dont even have a gi right now. I get all my care from my gp.
 
My GP is brilliant.
She is extremely responsive to my needs, is incredibly patient and wonderfully supportive and understanding. She has provided excellent referrals to a variety of specialists, delivers excellent follow up and is overall just fantastically amazing!
I should probably tell her this more often.
 
my gp is awesome, hes a lot more easier to talk to than the guy at hospital, but i see what your getting at - if there is anything wrong, he always refers me, but i always see him first.
 
Glad to hear that others have good support from there GPs.
Maybe it's a bit of a glitch in the English NHS system. I have seen alot of posts from other members with similar problems. The help I have had once I am with the right people has been excellent and can't complain there.

It would be interesting to hear other uk members experiences of getting the right care and how quick.

Thanks for responses
 
One thing i hate about the doctors is that it takes like a week and a half just to get an appointment, i was feeling really shit the other week and rang up for an appointment to see my gp, but he wasn't free for a week and a half.. it really doesn't help when it takes so long..
 
This is the sort of thing I have noticed and think it is sometimes best just to go to a+e. This is what my consultant at the hospital suggests. You don't need to be referred that way. They will take a blood test and if your inflammation levels are up, keep you in and hopefully start you on IV steroids the next day. A week and half suffering is not fair.
 
I think everyone can take something away from this post, if any doctor is not listening to you, then move on. Primary doctors are important as they link all of your specialist doctors together and take care of your vitamin levels and drug interactions.
 
I think it depends on the GP. I am lucky my current one is fantastic, my previous one was really difficult and just kept telling me to take painkillers and Imodium.
 
Hi my gp is absolutely useless he only gave me imodium which made me worse and nearly made my bowel perforate so the surgeons had to do an emergency total colectomy with ileostomy. They tried everything before that but treatment never worked.
 
My old GP was absolutely useless! She took one look at me, a tiny child, pale as a ghost, with constant diarrhoea, and told me I needed to eat more red meat and fibre! My new one's lovely, though, so I think it really is just a matter of finding the right one.
 
Blue said:
One thing i hate about the doctors is that it takes like a week and a half just to get an appointment, i was feeling really shit the other week and rang up for an appointment to see my gp, but he wasn't free for a week and a half.. it really doesn't help when it takes so long..
Click to expand...

the only problem is i never know if its bad enough to go to a+e .. :| i always worry if i did go theyd say its not bad.. or if im feeling better the next day
 
I'm surprised you needed the second Gastro referral. With a confirmed case of CD (even in remission for such a long time) they should have kept you under their care for regular scopes, yearly check-ups etc.
 
I think to be fair after my first remission I got a bit cocky as a young man and dropped off the radar (stupid I know). When I fell I'll I went to the GP who asked me what I wanted to be prescribed. I just insisted on being referred to Gastro at the hospital. They have looked after me ever since ( I've grown up now).
Similar to the posts above though the first time I went to GP at age 17 and 45lb down looking like a ghost, he prescribed me immodium. It nearly killed me!
I dont think anyone should be afraid to go to a+e if your feeling bad and you know it's getting worse by the minute. I done that this time and they just took me in(after a 6 hour wait, this is UK). It is the quickest way to get treatment and was recommended to me by my specialist. We pay our taxes.
 
I aslo agree that the GP system in the UK is a lottery. I'm sure ther are brilliant helpful GP's, but alot of them are just useless.
 
Just too also add, I am writing this in my hospital bed after 3 days of IV Hydro cortisone and the inflammation has gone from 360 down to 40. if I'd been given Prednisone and sent home I'm sure this would take longer. They don't want to let me go until I'm in the teens, when they will send me home on Reducing dose of Prednisone.
I was not expecting this when I turned up at A+E, but I'm really pleased with the treatment.
 
Surely A&E should be reserved for accidents and emergencies - not the ongoing management or treatment of an already diagnosed disease?
If you have been diagnosed with CD you should surely be under the care of a GI rather than going to the emergency department for treatment.
 
All my scopes are performed at the hospital under a specialist Gasto clinic. Once referred to them in the uk they deal with my condition. I find my GP is only there for caught and colds they are useless when it comes to crohns and so slow.
Also to Samboi, I agree if your just feeling mild discomfort and your GP is good at getting you treatment quick that's great. I had a sudden flare which I never experienced before on a known but previously harmless stricture. The pain was constant and scared me a bit so I went to a+e. If I had to make an appointment I would have been in pain for days to a week.
 
Matt1977 hope you get better soon and it starts too work soon. Samboi your right they should be under care of a GI xx
 
In the UK, once you have a diagnosis of Crohn's or similar (or any long term illness for that matter) you should have access to a specialised medical team pretty much instantly. I have a telephone number and email address for the IBD nurses team at my hospital and they are my first point of contact for any problems. They are able to either arrange for tests to be done, medicine to be prescribed, or get me an appointment at the GI pretty quick. Even when I contact them with non urgent issues they get back to be within 24 hours.

If anyone in the UK does not have contact details like this, phone your hospital and ask for them! I think everyone should be able to get directly in contact with their GI themselves, not have to go through their GP.

I have a similar set up with the neurological team so if I experience any worsening of my symptoms (or new ones) I can contact the nurses who will make the necessary arrangements.

So while going to see your GP may indeed be a waste of time (after all, they are general doctors and can't be expected to deal with the management of something as complex as IBD), I have to agree that A and E is not the appropriate first point of call for the management of a diagnosed illness. It is for life and death situations, such as if you feel you are totally obstructed or perforating. The fact that you had a 6 hour wait tells me that the A and E team agree!
 

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