Awful doctor
After experiencing jerky twitching and black spots in my vision, I was told by 111 to see someone today. I tried to see the primary care team at my GP but they were fully booked so I was told to go to the Urgent Treatment Centre. The nurse I saw 10 minutes in was LOVELY- she’s the only reason this review is 2 stars, she was so kind and helpful! I would never leave a bad review just for waiting times so here’s the kicker- the doctor. My God, I have never experienced such a case of medical misogyny and sheer disregard. By the time we went in, I was quite upset and exhausted from twitching all day. He asked me what the problem is- I told him. He then asked about my medical history and I told him about my fibromyalgia and previous hypertension. He kept asking if there’s anything else that I have… any other condition… I said no because I knew telling him about my PTSD would just make him pin it on anxiety (I’ve had cPTSD for pretty much my whole life, wasn’t stressed at all this day and haven’t had these symptoms before). He then asked me if there was any possibility that I could be pregnant. I said no. He looked from me to my boyfriend and was like ‘how can you be sure?’ i said I have PCOS and so only have 2 periods a year and it’s very unlikely that I’ll be pregnant and I am safe in general. This man was SO convinced I was lying. He was so convinced that I could be pregnant. Brother I’ve had one period in 10 months? Anyway he kept saying that he wanted to do a urine test for pregnancy. He then kept going on about caffeine and I said no I only have one coffee per day and that I’m very careful because of my previous high blood pressure and he laughed. And then he asked about mental health- I said I have a diagnosis of PTSD- at this point, I was worked up and so panicked and said that. He leaned back and I knew at that moment that my vision and jerking limbs were forgotten- it was now all anxiety. I told him it was very well managed (it is) and that I’m on medication for it and manage it well! He then said he sees that I’m nervous and that he thinks it’s just anxiety and he wants to give me diazepam and he’ll give me blood tests if it will ‘give me peace of mind’ but it’ll take 2 hours. My partner asked if the diazepam would interact with any of my other medication- he didn’t acknowledge any of my other medications and just started saying about my gabapentin and that it’s only a small dose and it won’t matter. I know gabapentin can be bad alongside other medications and my partner briefly mentioned that I stopped taking my co-codamol for my fibromyalgia because of the gabapentin- he looked shocked and was like ‘why are you taking co-codamol?’ and seemed very accusatory- I said it’s for my fibromyalgia pain and he just kind of shook his head?? He seemed really confused why I was there the whole time, even though I told him that I was told to by 111 and my optician also said to if my floaters got worse? In the end I was so upset that I said I don’t want the blood tests or the pregnancy tests and we’re just going to leave- he tried to tell me to have the diazepam and then disappeared for a while and we just left. I didn’t feel safe taking the diazepam alongside my other medication. Okay and then THE ICING ON THE CAKE. My discharge letter. He said I had polymyalgia?? I mentioned I had fibromyalgia like 5 times and he also said I had PCO (with a bunch of question marks beside it) and that I was on pregabalin?? I’m not on pregabalin?? I also completely understand that in these reviews it’s often easy to think that the patient was rude but I am always polite, always calm and am very timid. I came away in bits and shocked at the way I was treated. I’m honestly disgusted by the way I was treated and I hope no other woman ever has to go through what I did.
