Doubting Thomas Drs and need to rant

Ldyalb

Bit of backstory - I basically have suspected PA. My first GP (GP1) ignored my finger swellings for several months, despite my last Rheumy telling him to run some ultrasounds etc if it hadn't gone away by early Dec '11.

When my nails started to pit I decided to seek a second opinion and saw GP2 - he was great, referred me to a Rheumy and said it looked like nail Psoriasis. I showed him some of my Eczema patches and he said one looked like it could potentially be Psoriasis (had this permanently for around 8-10 years now, on my right ankle a dark patch which is dry and sometimes has silvery flakes of skin on).

Recently my nails have started to detach ever so slightly, initially just my fingernails but I discovered last night that my big toe nails are both affected now as well. I saw a Nurse who gave me Fucidin ointment to keep them clean. As my nails aren't majorly detaching I have trimmed them short and taken good care of them.

But then they became very sore with flakey skin around them and the skin has started to peel off and crack. GP2 has a 4 week waiting list so I decided to see GP3, someone who I saw about a minor skin problem in November, he diagnosed me with Eczema and Rosacea.

I saw him yesterday. I showed him the hands, he asked me my job. I said that I don't work, he replied 'lucky you'. Then he said 'so, are you a housewife or are you a Mother?'. I responded - 'no I'm signed off sick' (seriously, my medical records were before him, I'm 23 so unlikely to have a child at my age, if I'd recently had one it would be on my records surely? Plus I have loads of medical issues, main ones being Fibro, HMS, Dyspraxia and RLS - all of which are on my medical records). He did at least look sheepish then.

I explained about the Rheumy appt and that I've also had nail detachment and pitting but that the latter has no largely grown out. He said it looked like Eczema, have I ever had that before? (well, yeah - you diagnosed me with it 6 months ago). I mentioned the suspected nail Psoriasis. He said 'oh no, it's definitely not Psoriasis - if it was you'd have pits in your nails, it'd look like a thimble'. So I repeated - my pits have only just grown out (trimmed the last of them away last week) and that I still had some on my worst finger's nail. Still, he ignored that and said 'if it was Psoriasis they'd have thickened as well'.

My pits only appeared late last year. If I DO have PA then I've not had it for very long, so surely we're looking at the early stage symptoms, not full blown symptoms anyway? And I thought you could have nail P without thickening? I've always had thick nails anyway!

I then asked advice on how to clean my nails, I've been using a nail file but my boyfriend doesn't like it, he thinks it could worsen the detachment. So I thought I'd ask as I don't want to keep the icky black stuff you get in your nails there to fester in an area already weakened due to the detachment. He patted me on the hand and said 'that's not a medical problem dear'. No? Really, well done Sherlock. I know nails get dirty. I want to know if my method of cleaning them is doing more harm than good!!!

He's given me some Epaderm which has improved my skin loads in just 4 applications. It's used for Eczema and P so the fact that it's worked doesn't tell me anything. I happen to agree that the skin issue is Eczema as I've had it before, but not the pitting and detachment. He just wound me up, it was a largely wasted trip.

But now he's sown those horrible seeds of doubt in my mind (my joints have been not too bad this past week) so I'm getting to that 'am I imagining it?' stage. I know logically that I'm not, GP2 said there's definitely something there, whether it's PA, Eczema and a different Inflammatory arthritis like RA, or even a problem with my tendons etc. But having two GPs be so dismissive (the first one was worse in a way) is a bit of a downer

But it could be worse. There's a shockingly bad GP at my surgery, I saw him about a UTI last year. He told me when I walked in 'I see from your records you have Fibro - what is that?'. Then he gave me an old man's prescription instead of mine. But the other prescription was a month old and had just been sat on his desk. For a MONTH.

Then my Mum saw him a few days ago about an eye problem. He asked her to stand up against the wall after examining them. She asked if she needed to put her glasses back on, or leave them on the table. He said to leave them. Then he asked her what she could see, she told him what she could see (very little). His response - 'oh you need glasses, see an optician'

I really miss my old GPs in London, they were excellent and I had 14 to choose from. Here I have 6 to choose from, all male (don't have a prob with male docs but it'd be nice to have the option of a female one for gynae stuff). I've met 5 of them and only liked one. The 6th is old and is only part time, mainly based in the next town and only does a few appointments a week in my village.

Apologies for the length, I needed to rant!

skezier

Hi Ldyalb,

Its never good to have a bad gp but to have all but one is really bad....

I wonder could you change gp's? I had chronic ones and was stuck with them till they changed the distances they cover as I live out in the sticks and the old rubbish ones (and they were) were the only ones I could be under.

Now I have been able to go to another even though its 7 miles or more away and they are so much better so that's the best thing if you can?

I hope you an see the nice one in future or change if you can... that's my advice cus of how bad my old ones were and what it cost me to have such bad doctors.

Hang in there. Cris x

theresa4

I changed doctors years ago because she became very bitter and twisted after her divorce and would often say very unhelpful and spiteful comments ( this was pre RA ) I moved to another within the same practice. She was lovely but after a severe fall and extreme back pain unable to sit down I was left stood crying for an hour and a half due to the new sit and wait appointment system. I promptly changed, I now have an amazing gp and the others in the practice are pretty good too. Best thing I ever did.

Good luck with whatever you decide

Theresa

Ldyalb

I live in a tiny village unfortunately, we share two surgeries, one in the village with 3 Drs and one in the next village with 2 Drs. Then there's several who split their time equally between them both. So far there's two I haven't seen (one is a fairly new one but he's almost always in the next village and I don't drive).

At least I know there's one who's decent, it's just that everyone else has also realised he's the best one there so it's hard to see him :roll: . I was lucky, my Dad met him once and didn't like him, and he always looks so miserable so I just tried my Dad's old and current Drs when I moved back to their house. But then my Counsellor told me to see the good one as he's the best at the practice and she was right - he referred me straight away. My old GP said I couldn't have arthritis as my joints are mobile. Of course they are - I have HMS. Their mobility is part of my problem - having HMS often predisposes people to arthritis, esp at a young age. I'm 24 in 6 weeks. Mum's had OA since she was 24 and also has HMS. It doesn't alter the fact that one of the joints changed shape in early Jan and is still the wrong shape. Grr.

My Dad spoke to someone in the village who almost died of an illness that the above GP missed, it was when he saw the good GP that he was referred and diagnosed. So - I'm very glad I decided to get a second opinion now!

valval

well my great gp just left so going to have to play try and see but i always made app with good gp even if it was for 3 weeks later then saw which ever i could get in to see that way had app ready for if what the prescribed did not work or could sort out one of the many probs that crop up with arther hope you get sorted soon val

Ldyalb

Ah that is gutting. I guess you'll just have to try all of the others, and see who is the best. Or ask around friends and neighbours for any recommendations. If you have online booking then that's a useful way to see who's good - usually the ones with lots of appointments free aren't as good as the ones who are fully booked up.

I have an appointment with the good GP on 11 May now so at least that's something. With a bit of luck I might have seen the Rheumy by then and be able to sort out a proper treatment plan with my GP