To want to make a complaint about my GP

[Fernie3]

i have been non tablets for high blood pressure for about a year (since having my daughter). I also suffer with anxiety, when I go to the doctor my blood pressure is always high so they sent me for a 24 hour monitor. When I went back to the GP he told me it showed my blood pressure was too high and doubled the dose of the medication. Now since then about 7 months, I have been I'll, tired, pain in my chest etc and I have been back to the GP a few times because of this and he has told me that my blood pressure is still too high so he wants to increase my dose, I finally convoked him to send my to another doctor and saw a cardiologist today at the hospital.I had a heart scan etc which was fine (even though the doctor had told me he expected it to show a problem) but the thing I actually want to complain about is the fact that the 24 hour monitor I had showed that m blood pressure was actually too LOW - the cardiologist actually said that it was so low at points that she's surprised I haven't been fainting - all of the symptoms I have been having have been a result of that basically months of being pretty miserable. She actually showed the report that the sent to the GP and it says in big bold letters at the bottom low blood pressure, she couldn't explain why the doctor had then double the dose?!

I don't want to be overly picky about this and I have never complained about anyone before but to me this is negligent on the part of the GP shoukd I make a formal complaint?

My mum has recently been diagnosed with hypertension and at times her BP is 'dangerously' high. The problem she has with the meds - lossartin(?) - makes her BP swing between low and high, they can't seem to control it. She has had a week of a monitor, an ECG, a CAT scan and a 24 hour urine test and they are still unsure.
Possibly the meds could be doing the same? by all means, complain if you feel your treatment has been poor.

A strange mistake to make - so very basic. I would bring it up with GP and if you are then not happen how he explains himself - then complain.

Yes, this could have been dangerous if it had been upped again - but how odd to not only do it once, but then talk about raising the dosage again....

Geekcool on the 24 hour monitor is didn't go up High at all it was either the low normal range or too low the whole 24 hours she actually said increasing the dose would have been very dangerous at that point.which is scary.
I have no idea why the doctor increased the does after the 24 hour monitor thing unless he just didn't read it I don't know!

My dad is the same as you, it is a problem I think that doctors aren't sure how to best treat. His resting blood pressure is fairly low but he can get it up really high (the peaks are dangerously high) when he is stressed, ironically he gets this stressed over having his blood pressure taken or going near a hospital.

I think it is reasonable to demand a referral or a second opinion, I'm not sure it is negligent as if it is high when he sees you then he must feel like it is urgent to deal with that now. He would be a lot more accountable about you having a stroke, say, at a high peak, than fainting at a low peak. I think you should have an assertive conversation with him about your concerns and asked to be referred to a specialist. It took about 2 years for my dad to get the right drug combination, but it is possible. It does depend on what too low actually is, to some degree, and there is a relative element - I'm fine at 80/50 for example, but my dad gets woozy there.

His runnerhasbeen I did see a specialist today that is who told me that ot was going too low and showed me the report from the hospital today.

If your blood pressure was monitored for 24 hours and found to be low then it will be based on an overall reading and can't be due to extrernal stresses, It does look like your GP has made a dangerous error. I think you should make a formal complaint to your local PALS team. They can then investigate and see if the action you GP took was negligent or reasonable. If he has taken appropriate action then the matter won't be taken further.

What was your BP? Didn't you recognise that it was low not high?

And no, YWNBU to make a complaint. If your BP was low then doubling your dose could've been really dangerous.

nursesunshine, when I go to the doctor it is high (was 95 at the bottom last time) and the 24 hour monitor hid the readings from you so I had no idea it was low until today!

the doctor I saw today said they will redo the 24 hour monitor in a few months to check it. I feel a bit calmer now I think it was the doctor pointing out the big bold "low blood pressure" on the report that got me a bit miffed off lol. I will sleep on it and maybe speak to the GP first. I AM gogin to try and change surgeries though I just feel my confidence in this one is a little shaken!

I think you should ask for an explanation, but can't see how you're in a position to complain, if I'm understanding your post. Your bp was high when tested at GP's - her records will show that. She gave you meds to lower it. When tested again at the hospital it's too low - probably due to the meds lowering it. It's not an exact science. You may be someone who has swings in bp for whatever reason. But the GP's records will show her BP measurements, I don't see how she's been negligent. She would have been negligent to ignore a high bp, without increasing the meds. If you have high bp it's a good idea to get yourself a home monitor so that you can keep a check on it.

mum765 it was tested on a 24 hour monitor the hospital then sent those results to my gp (which showed my blood pressure was low over a 24 hour period) he then increased the medication and ignored the fact it was low, so he DID know it was low - the point of the 24 hour thing was to work out if it was only high in the doctors or if it was high all the time (which it wasnt) he told me that the 24 horu thing showed it was high whereas in fact it clearly didnt.

Fernie - it sounds to me as if you have almost classic 'white coat hypertension' - where just being at the gp surgery sends your bp up higher. Frankly your gp should be aware of this phenomenon, and should have considered it - especially in light of the report on the 24 hour monitor.

I rarely suggest complaining about doctors, because as a nurse, I know that they are only human, and usually do their best, but in this case, I do think you should complain to your practice manager, because the effect of you being on this unneccessary medication could have had such serious consequences - if you had fainted whilst driving, for example.

I hope things are sorted out now, and you are feeling better. {{hugs}}

It's the 'swings' that are now believed to be particularly dangerous, not just high blood pressure per se. I think you should ask your GP if it is 'swings' between high and low that are concerning him, ot not; and please do ask for a referral to a 2nd opinion or a specialist. It's your right, and you clearly need an explanation.

Oh I see what you mean. Does sound a bit odd. In which case I would perhaps write to practice manager or see him again and ask him to explain why he's done this.

You really need to speak to the GP and get an explanation for his treatment choice, but YWNBU to complain.
My Dad has a very low resting BP but in a stressful situation it goes dangerously high, it has taken a few different trials of different tablets to find one that works, he also has 'White Coat Syndrome' and was advice to get his own BP monitor and keep a record of his BP to bring to GP for his check ups so that they have a better idea of his actual BP.