I can't face another GP appointment so where do I go?

[TheOriginalFAB]

Have depression.
Recently diagnosed with FM.
I have to go to the breast clinic for checks.
I think I could have sleep apnea (well DH does).
A MNter thinks I may have Addison's disease.

I am just feeling so down with it all. I finally get my depressions sorted and are managing the kids and house really well and yet my body is letting me down.

[tribpot]

You'll really need a GP appointment if you want to be referred on - sleep apnoea is fairly easy to diagnose with the right test.

Could you afford a private workup? Bupa (as an example) do healthchecks. Why can you not face another GP appointment? (I completely sympathise, btw, I'm just asking what the specific reason is for you). You could book a double appointment if you're worried about running over.

[TheOriginalFAB]

I looked on my local private hospital site as we have cover but I still need a GP referral.

One GP pretty much ignores me and called me lazy when I said I was putting on weight and couldn't understand why and was it my AD's.

Ano9ther G told me off for googling when I had most of the symptoms of cervical cancer and said I would be more ill if I had had it for as long as the symptoms.

Even the nurse didn't take me seriously when I said I was tired all the time and just wanted to know how I was coping with depression.

[IntotheNittyGritty]

has your doctor taken your bloods to rule out a number of diagnoses. This is the first step. I would insist on bloods, pressure checks, cholesterals, diabetes checks to rule everything out. At least this is the first stage of knowing whether there is anything wrong or not.

I dont know what FM or AD's are.

Are you anaemic? Are you always tired, do you look washed out?

I agree that googling and even asking questions on forums like this can give you wrong information and be very misleading. I did this and my diagnosis versus what I thought was wrong with me were completely different and very unexpected.

Dont let the doctor intimidate you. If necessary take a strong friend with you who can ask the questions. Make sure you have a list of questions and ask them all when you go and dont get fobbed off. Go in with the attitude of its gone on long enough, you have come for help and first of all want a full medical check up

[TheOriginalFAB]

All I ever get is "your results are normal." How can it be normal to feel this tired all the time? Once the post man has been I am going to bed for a sleep. I am just so fed up.

[IntotheNittyGritty]

This is what happened to me and I stopped going back and when I did recently I asked for extensive tests and they found a problem.

I dont want to paint a doom and gloom picture, but you know your body, write a diary of daily symptoms and then go back and talk to them again. Or, worse case scenario, present yourself at A&E

[Eachpeach80]

Can you change GP?

[RichTeaAreCrap]

FAB why do you think you might have Addisons Disease? What symptoms have you got? I have just been tested for Addisons so may be able to give you a bit of info on it.

I understand exactly how you feel though - I have been ill for months, had all kinds of tests that are normal, but still I know there is something wrong. The problem with this is that you then start googling and imagining all kinds of things which brings on additional anxiety. My gp seems to have come to a standstill knowing they have run blood tests and a lot of other tests but they are normal - this means I am ok in his eyes. It is so frustrating because you know your body and know when you are not well.

[IntotheNittyGritty]

The symptons of Addisons are exactly the same of lots of other diseases.

I would be very cautious about believing I had something because someone on the internet mentioned the words.

[TheOriginalFAB]

TBH it was a MNter who suggested AD.

I went to bed at 8 last night. Listened to a 20 minute CD and then slept. I woke a few times between 5-7 but I am already looking forward to a sleep once I have got the kids to school and done the shopping.