24 August 2009

f*****g confused.

yeah, im not one to swear, but this year has handed me a lot to deal with. in may just before i went into hospital, i had a lump in my left breast. the man gp, (the one that said there was nothing wrong with me, and i had p.o.t.s) said it was probably nothing to worry about. daft me believes doctors, because otherwise they wouldnt be in a job right? well not right.

now i have another more larger lump on the other side. the skin around the lump is red. im pee-ed off. i cant take more hosptials and more tests. i will try and make an appointment with the doc, the lady doc this time, the only one i trust this week. although she is usually booked up for two weeks.

funny though, for two years the doctors have treated me as a time waster. everytime i went up there with a new complaint, due to the p.o.t.s, they were very dismissive. now they cant do enough for me. prescriptions are on time, appointments made promptly, phone calls returned. i wonder why? do you think they are a little scared i may make a complaint? or more take them to court, to refund the amount the private treatment cost? ( we didnt have health insurance).

please all i ask is that this isnt something serious. i dont think i could take much more. espically this last two or three weeks, ive been feeling better.

5 comments:

coffeecup said...

Flipping heck!!! I'd be swearing too, enough already hey?!!

I'm kinda suprized that the doc didn't send you for tests for the first lump you found so I guess they don't think there is anything to worry about. They are not exactly coming across as trustworthy if they failed to diagnose the POTS and I'd be seriously thinking of complaint if you've been mistreated by way of their poor attitude. Still it's not all that common and your average GP probably covered many illnesses in a five minute paragraph at med school. They ought to at least be more open minded I reckon, when you visit them it's hardly going to be hypocrondria is it? I mean, we KNOW when we're not feeling well! They have a duty to take it seriously.

The vast majority of breast lumps are totally harmless and best left well alone, or so I am led to believe from what I've heard and read. I know you've had more than you can bear with hospitals but make your appointment with the GP and see what they say first maybe? I know it's so hard not to worry and you must be feeling a whole mixture of emotions at present. Take it one step at a time. You have shown you can cope with anything that comes your way.

Empathies sweet lady. :-(

XXXX

Alexandra Rising said...

I was going to suggest that perhaps the lumps are cysts, but, I don't know what POTS is, so I decided to suggest it. For all I know POTS=cysts.
I, too, think it's odd that a doctor wouldnt biopsy a lump just to ensure it wasn't anything bad.
I might switch doctors [as annoying as that can be] if I were you. It could easily be nothing more than tissue rearranging itself but it is the unknown that is scary. I'd recommend getting it checked out if only to ease your own anxiety.

Hope it all works out :)

Ellen said...

I know how scary health scares can be Alice...As the others say, it's most likely not serious, but must be checked out. You have to be your own advocate with doctors, that's for sure. They're not always on top of things. Good luck

Anonymous said...

Hi Alice,

In future I would definitely stick to the GP you feel most comfortable with which is your right. It is a shame that there are GPs who are not understanding and some who give us the impression that they are not taking us seriously. If you have a better option then always take it even if it means waiting longer for an appointment as a result because the one thing we all seek from GP visits is peace of mind and if you are not getting that then it is not worth it.

I hope all checks out well for you. I know my wife's sister and one of her friends has had a few lumps which turned out to be cysts, as Alexandra Rising said, so it could be something like that as they are common. But I also know its not easy when you have a real concern to live with and are restricted in getting care.

Its a shame that after all you have been through recently you are not getting a break. Again I hope you have good news and understanding with the female GP.

All the best

Nechtan

em said...

hi steph

even when i went into the ambulance this year four times, the paramedics said how awful my doctors practise was. that kind of reassured me, that i wasnt going out of my mind with my symptoms. i am not really surprised that they didnt send me for tests. unfortunately i know of two people that had cancer, one lived and one died, with my doctor. he left the referrals too late. so you can see my concern. i think they need some form of complaint. thanks steph.xx


hi alex

pots is, postural orthastatic tachycardia syndrome. basically what that means is my autonomic nervous system is in chaos. the mechanisms in your body that are automatic doesnt work properly in my body, and after years they have just found that out. thanks.x

hi ellen

im learning slowly that docs dont always know best. i think im off the old school where people in offical positions know more then us mere mortals. how wrong was i. thanks.x

hi nechtan

im hoping they are cysts. i felt so trapped earlier on in the year when there was no help for me. that is the most scariest position to be in. and now they are trying to wiggle out of things. i will explain that in a post. thanks.x