I've had awful and awesome doctors. Youngish are often better.
I had a problem some time ago, and didn't know whether to go private or not.
A locum GP I saw at the time said I had, at worst, the
choice between the incompetent and the corrupt. That phrase has stuck with me.
Case in point though, I was sat in a private doc's about something, where you get a 20 minute appointment. He had his blood results and whatnot, and he said "hmm let me think", sat back and took ages reading notes. Very unlike an NHS GP.
I'd had the basic problem for years. He made a list of possibles and started asking a load of questions. He said he didn't know for sure what it was. He said he'd work through, so I thought he was just pushing the bill up. First he sent me to his specialist mate down the corridoor. I was completely suspicious, but he was right - something nobody else had considered, proved to be it. Sorted. I wouldn't have got there on the NHS.
Similar thing happened with a humble vitamin. A consultant saw the number - near zero, and told me I'd need a cocktail to put it right, not just the vitamin because it wouldn't be absorbed. She'd write to my GP. GP knew nothing of needing a cocktail, so referred to the NICE advice. Just the vitamin, it says. I'd looked it up, and 2 other things are recommended as advised by consultant. GP said I could buy them but she couldn't prescribe them. WTF!!?? Then there was a tetchy letter from the consultant. I did buy the extras - cheap enough.
Saw a GP-surgery-based physio about an
arm problem. After 20 mins, she diagnosed golfer's elbow. I didn't think it was. I looked it up, and found what seemed more likely. (UCL)
I went to another consultant about a
hand problem and the proposed slitting of my carpal tunnel cartilage, so told him about the golfer's elbow diagnosis..
In 10 seconds he said the arm problem wasn't 'golfer's elbow', obviously.
Another minute and he said he didn't think cutting the carpal ligament would help with the hand. (Tried a steroid as a diagnostic, not expecting it to do anything, and it hasn't).
So, two more misdiagnoses from the GP.
I compared with other hand.... I said I realised they weren't connected.
"Of course not", he says, "this is the NHS".
My health is my responsibility, is the attitude I take now.
A good attitude, I think. I find it helps to communicate if you're somewhat informed, on at least the basics They can in two sentences give you a mass of information you'd never have understood as a typical patient. You can ask things. too. And they remember you.
@Bod ... Those other Liver Function test indicators I didn't remember are ALT, ASP, ALP and CGT as
here.
Ask the docs how they (especially ALT) were affected and how they're returning to normal, or otherwise.
Hope you recover, I expect it'll take effort on your part. Prod for frequent tests!
