to think that this takes the default doc response of "it's probably a virus" to a whole new level

[emkana]

Monday lunchtime ds fell from his Trip Trap high chair - I'm not quite sure how, as I had my back to him, but when I turned round he was on his back on the floor, totally dazed for a while, then crying inconsolably for ages, then falling asleep - which is very unusual for him (he is four). Woke him up after an hour, he was still very subdued and quiet, then he perked up a bit, to then complain about a headache. Gave him Calpol - he projectile vomited three times. We took him straight down to the out of hours doc - who told us it was probably a gastric virus and that in fact ds probably fell ill and therefore fell of his chair! Stunned, but on a silly level wanting to believe him, we went home. Later that night ds woke up and threw up several times again - we took him to A & E and they kept him in for 24 hour monitoring, diagnosis - moderate concussion. Thankfully he's fine now.

All this happened in Germany btw, so it's not just English docs who rely on the "it's prob a virus" line...

we were back and fore the gps for months with my mum, doctor kept giving anti-biotics for chest infections.

After going back and fore every day for 2 weeks, i asked if they were waiting for mum to drop dead, and was told i was over-reacting and that mum had post-viral fatigue. saw another gp later the same day, and got her admitted tp hospital, and found out that she had lung cancer.

Saw the gp for a un-related issue and he listened to mums complaint and printed off a prescription and then walked out of the room, didnt say a word to either mum or myself.

Another time just before my mum started chemotherapy, she started coughing up blood, took her to the gp as we were all quite concerned, doctor sent her to hospital for a chest x-ray, to see what could be causing the coughing up of blood. I am so glad that I phoned her oncologist, as he couldnt understand what a x-ray would show other than the tumour that was already on her lungs

My Cousin visited her GP several times over months and months to be constantly told she was experiencing indigestion.........My Cousin died of Pancreatic Cancer (she was only 24yrs old!)

I don't understand the point of posting on here about cases where patient have been misdiagnosed? Shall we all post about the boring viral infections, high temperature and other minor complaints that we have seen a GP about and have become well due to them pescribing medicication?

Of course GP's cannot possibly correctly diagnose people all the time, without any symptoms they can just ask you to come beack if anything changes. Unfortunately some serious illnesses can quickly lead to death and it's really not the GP's fault (although I appreciate as in all professions there are the odd ones who are irresponsible and deserve the boot).

Stop GP bashing.

Tots2ten- I don't understand the last part of your post..

Should the GP have blindly diagnosed this even with a chance that it may have not been the cancer spreading? - there are many reasons for someone coughing up blood. I think a chest X-ray was the correct next step in investigating the cause of the blood, I'm sure the GP "suspected" it had spread, but they do need to confirm their suspicions with tests and investigation, they can't just guess.

grow thicker skin.medics,sw,hv all get pasting on mn.is someone else subjective pov not a personal attack.

Eh? I don't need to grow thicker skin. I'm not personally offended, I just think it's silly to expect a GP to be able to get it right every time - especially when there are a lack of symptoms.

I've been on MN long enough to know who gets a pasting on here

so why plea stop gp/hv/sw bashing.tis mn perennial

SM - Because it's boring and insulting, that's why.

For those of us not medically trained, we put a lot of faith in the medical profession and whilst we appreciate that sometimes things are hard to diagnose - because there can be confusion with symptoms - we generally trust doctors. We don't have much option.

But sometimes, even when faced with symptoms as described in OP, GPs seem to diagnose something else and it can be frustrating especially if, as a parent, you just feel they are wrong or that you are made to feel like you are being neurotic or a timewaster. Especially if your suspicions are proved correct and your child could have been at risk - again like OP. So that's not GP bashing.

come on do you seek your profesional validation/affirmation on mn.its discursive forum not cpd.

mn perenialy bashes a multitude if many,and if i really grates thts about you not mn

fwiw

fair whack of things i do/have done - crop up as mn topics for derision/aibu/well i never

so fuckin what

it isnt real

doesnt matter

difference with the OP Starbuck is that there WERE symptoms - very clear ones.

Starbuck999 the gp knew she had lung cancer, the results had only just got back, and we had saw him the week before with a different complait and was still saying she had post-viral fatigue. And told us there was no need to inform her oncologist, as it was another chest infection. (sorry missed that out)

Looking back now (hindsight is great) all mums symptoms were there, Having a cough most of the time, Being short of breath, aches/pain when breathing or coughing, Loss of appetite, Fatigue, Losing weight,

have to say apart from the GP's it's a bad chest infection go up to the hospital with him (he called the ward so we could go direct there), the ward treated as per bad chest infection, then his ear drum burst and they decided it was only an ear infection not a chest one (personally I think it was both).

Oh and the GP when DS1 was 2 weeks old who asked "is he sleeping at night" and when I replied no he asked me if that was usual for him (I was at the time but I saw him again with DS1 and he was fab so I put it down to Monday morning blues.

I've been lucky with GP's thus far.

There's only one "crap" GP at my surgery - but as it's virtually impossible to see him unless you've got 2 weeks to sit around and wait for the appointment it doesn't affect me too much.

I despair with GPs I really do. Tell me again how it is they are worth 100k a year?

Sorry, perhaps that was harsh. I know there are some very good ones... But I have met too many seemingly apathetic and disinterested ones.

like any profession,some v good some not so.clinical error and mistakes make more notoriety than a good consultation that went well.

At least 95% of the GPs I have ever seen have been at least GOOD, quite a lot of them excellent, with only one or two I wasn't impressed by, I can't understand why people are so cynical.