New GP says consultant wrong I don't have RA removes tablets

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Paleogirl
Paleogirl Member Posts: 75
edited 3. Nov 2016, 06:05 in Living with Arthritis archive
So in a perfect storm at the moment. Newly diagnosed, disease is raging, side effects of tablets but no benefits yet as too early.

Intense pain and fatigue has got too much as can't sleep but trying to hold down a full time job. Phoned my GP for help. Very sympathetic and said come in today let's see what we can do.

Got there but my appointment was with an elderly locum GP who apparently worked in a RA clinic 10'years ago.

He looked at my blood results, said I tested negative for rheumatoid factor (yes I know this). Showed low inflammatory markers and only a slightly raised anti ccp.

So I didn't have RA, the consultant must have made a mistake and the pain I was in in my head because someone had told me I was ill. Blood tests do not lie.

Instead of getting pain relief, he cut it and I was told to take paracetamol instead.

Rang back later and asked to speak to my actual GP. There was some expletive deletive..I went back down, he checked me over. All joints swollen and inflamed. Now on morphine and amiltryptaline!

Blimey I get the weird ones don't I!

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  • Paleogirl
    Paleogirl Member Posts: 75
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    Should add the swearing was my regular GP not me. I was just still in shock
  • Ladybrown
    Ladybrown Member Posts: 130
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    OMG that's awful! I had to change GP surgeries because I got a sequence of unhelpful locums who never took me seriously.
    Are you tempted to complain - what on earth makes the locum think he knows better than a consultant?!

    So glad your usual GP was able to sort things out for you.
  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,425
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    I was reading up on another forum yesterday and there was another Dr (gynae - male), who told a woman it was all in her head too etc etc....you know the drill :roll:

    I cannot believe there are still Drs out there who are so ill-informed.

    It's quite frightening actually as they wield all the power so essential meds can be taken away as were yours.

    I am glad you have a good 'usual' GP who could help you.

    Take care now

    Toni xxx
  • applerose
    applerose Member Posts: 3,621
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    Thank goodness you did phone your GP. Some people might have just believed what the locum said. It's shocking that they don't know enough about this disease. Hope you start to feel a bit bette soon.
    Christine
  • trepolpen
    trepolpen Member Posts: 504
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    just because you may have negitive results for rheumatiod factor dont mean you dont have RA , same for positive & not everyone with positive RF has RA

    Consultants use other results , ie: xrays , blood test , & examinations of joints but there are other conditions like Psoriatic arthritis & about 200 arthritis disease but most are treated the same as RA

    most GP have very little training about artritis , & now they can contact the consultants & ask question & get answer very quick if they need to , you need to build a trust with your consultant over the years to come , they will know what is your best treatment & best hope to have a normal life with your artritis controlled
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,713
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    Consultants diagnose and prescribe the essential meds. GPs merely deal with pain relief.

    I'm not quite sure what qualifications 'an elderly locum GP who apparently worked in a RA clinic 10'years ago' would have but he is not your consultant and doesn't have the power to take you off DMARDS other than in exceptional circumstances. Did he say what he did believe you had?

    It's a very lucky RA patient who can get by with just the DMARDS and paracetamol but it's a very unlucky one who requires oromorph and amitrip. I know you were very worried about taking methotrexate but give me meth rather than those two any day.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • tkachev
    tkachev Member Posts: 8,332
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    Blimey I get the weird ones don't I![/quote]

    Having read your other post I have to agree! Glad its all been sorted now.

    Elizabeth
    Never be bullied into silence.
    Never allow yourself to be made a victim.
    Accept no ones definition of your life

    Define yourself........

    Harvey Fierstein
  • bubbadog
    bubbadog Member Posts: 5,544
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    My cleaner was telling me about her friends little boy who a nastily cut his head just above his eye brow went to the Alex Hospital where 2 nurses glued the cut and didn't cover his eye while doing and ended up gluing his eye shut!! The glue got the insides of his eye glued as well and they went back to Alex and they used this glue dissolvent on the eye which burned his skin so much and he was sent home and told it will take a week for it to dissolve and this poor kid was screaming so much his parents took him to Worcester Royal and he is being kept in and having eye baths every few hours to sooth this poor young kids eye. His mother is complaining to the medical board about the Alex hospital. :x
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