To complain about my G.P.?

[growinglavender]

Would I be unreasonable to put in a complaint?

I have gained five stone over the last two years, going from a healthy 10 stone to just over 15. I look shocking and it's had a hugely detrimental impact on me.

I went to the G.P. when I was at breaking point with everything and I made it clear my weight gain was very upsetting for me.

She prescribed medication (anti depressants) which is apparently also prescribed for people and animals to GAIN weight!

I am wondering if I should put a complaint in, but I don't know how and would I be the surgery equivalent of "that parent" at school?

I don't think that's the most sensible thing to do Lavender. Having a mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of and neither is being overweight. Please go and post in the mental health topic rather than here! You're also welcome to PM me if you like.

I think it would be helpful to decide what you feel is wrong and what you would like to happen . The GP can then address this.
You want to move forward - the trouble with ten minute appointments is its really not long enough to find out what's going on and what the patients are concerned about -this leads to panic mode and firing off questions.
It sounds like the nurse had more time to give you so that was more productive. Why not book a double app with another GP ? Also a counsellor could help to get to the root of your overeating and help with insomnia ( there are lots of self help guides) .They won't be as pushed with time constraints and might help you feel listened to.

I have to take many meds for ms and various other conditions. Many of them have side-effects like pain, tiredness, etc which are things ms does all by itself. What I found was that it sometimes depends on the dose. I take anti-depressants, not for depression which I don't have, but because in low doses they have an almost magical effect on neuropathy.

You may find that these pills don't give you that side-effect. Do discuss with a doctor and see if there's anything else you could take, there's plenty of them.

Thanks, Silver but the issue is that I don't feel I can trust her, or to be frank, anyone. When I first went and the nurse practitioner actually listened and was understanding I felt so hopeful but then when I got that G.P. I was about it all because she was rushed, kept interrupting, talking over me and wouldn't stop talking about the flipping blood tests! (And yes, I do understand that certain things must be ruled out but surely it's obvious to anyone with half a brain that you'll gain weight if you're eating roughly your own body weight in fat and sugar!)

I'm just feeling so exhausted and tearful with it all. I don't want to be 'difficult' or 'that patient' but realistically going to the doctor is only helpful if they prescribe something that will help rather than something that will actually achieve the opposite of what I ultimately want.

Sometimes I feel like I just want to disappear!

Mirtazapine does not make you gain weight. It increases your appetite. The food you then choose to eat makes you gain weight. You can manage the side effect by making healthy food choices, it's not easy but it can be done.

I can't think of any AD except bupropion that does not have weight gain as a possible side effect. And your GP won't be permitted to prescribe that, it's used in secondary care and after exhausting other options.

Everyone pretty much has said, don't complain (which would go through the practice manager) but go back and talk about your concerns. So I'm not sure why you think cancelling the appointment where you could do exactly that is wise? I think that asking for something different is entirely reasonable. But I know when I am low I can get into this sort of black and white thinking much as you are, and being defensive - and so CBT is likely to be hugely helpful to you. Take what's on offer and work with them, and maybe reserve complaints for if there's a pattern rather than a one off appointment.

what are YOU doing to help sort yourself out?
I think you were foolish to refuse a talking therapy offered. Just because it didn't work in the past doesn't mean it won't work this time.

You seem to be wanting a magic pill or a cure. You need to ask why you binge eat, and what's going on behind that. It's psychological as you know.

Are you trying to stop? Are you doing something to help lift your mood and help you sleep like a brisk one hour daily walk? Make the most of summer! It's gorgeous outside today.

Maybe talk to one of the advisors on BEAT and get some support that way? or MIND? You need to start looking after yourself but it starts with you - not your GP.

Thanks, Bombardier, that does contradict what I've been told elsewhere though.

Eliza largely because as I've said, she didn't listen. If she's not even going to listen to the most basic of what I've said then it makes everything else largely pointless. I have to put a huge amount of trust in a woman who didn't even listen to me say 'I have gained a lot of weight through binge eating. It has upset me, meant my confidence is very low, meaning I won't go out or try to do other things that could help.'

Polly perhaps that's a fair comment but just the same, I do (honestly) know there's not a magic pill.

However, be fair. Had I posted on here that I was hugely overweight, insomniac, too self conscious to apply for jobs, exercise, see my friends - I think probably one of the first suggestions would have been to see my G.P. I did.

I haven't got an eating disorder or mental illness so the organisations you mention aren't applicable. Plus, I know why I binge eat but knowing why is only part of it. It's like a hole in the road - you might know why it's there but if you haven't got the tools to fill it you just keep falling in it.

please reconsider counselling, a different one to whoever you saw last time etc
also gp's can prescribe you specific exercise classes and the cost of weightwatchers or slimming world so you would get group support . ask gp to prescribe you the local active health equivalent and prescribe you a weight loss club type group

Last post I am making others and myself (who has a background both personally and professionally) have repeatedly informed you that the issue with weight gain is something that you have gotten incorrect, I feel no matter what your gp does will not make you happy. She appears to be investigating all possible reasons as to why you are gaining weight as you are. She has given mirtazipene because it's well known for its antidepressant uses and it assists in insomnia. She's offered counselling which you declined just coz it didn't previously work doesn't mean sessions with a different counsellor won't either.

They can only help you if you are willing to help yourself. It honestly reads like you just want a magic pill to make everything better. Start by making healthier choices if you are choosing to eat sugary high calorie foods look at other options, slow energy release to remove the sugar crash and craving for the sugar.

Btw your pothole analogy you are correct however she has attempted to give you those tools. You just haven't picked them up.

It's true, Bombardier, that most ADs have weight gain listed as a side effect, but mirtazapine really is very famous for it. It's very good for people who can't eat and can't sleep because of their depression, but not so great if you're having trouble keeping your weight down. Have you ever taken a medication that increases your appetite? It's very, very hard to avoid eating more. Hunger is one of the basic driving forces and we're essentially programmed to eat food if we're hungry and it's there. Just seeing it makes you salivate and feel strong urges to eat it. Like putting a packet of fags, a lighter and an ashtray in front of a smoker then telling them they have to smoke three a day, no more and no less.

Um. Binge eating is a form of eating disorder.

Thank you, but I don't feel counselling is effective for me and additionally, the NHS have long waiting lists and only provide a certain number of sessions (six, I believe) and I can't afford it privately.

Scooby while i wont argue that a magic pill would be nice I do know there isn't one in existence. Perhaps the truth is that nothing will actually work and I am stuck being fat, binge eating and being miserable and eating more and hating myself, prowling the house at 3 a.m. and exhausted the next day.

But then other times I think surely there must be a life out there for me? And I try but then I inevitably fail.

Thanks, Bombardier, that does contradict what I've been told elsewhere though.

How do you think it makes you put on weight, if not by the food you're consuming?

Are there any ADs you have found that you might prefer to try?

It sounds like you need to establish what is fact and what is anecdotal. People can tell you their own experiences and they are valid in so much as that is what that individual has experienced, but they're not necessarily representative of what will happen to you.

I know I said it was my last post have you tried slimming world or similar where there is group support? You can get discounted joining fees via your gp.

Thank you. I have tried SW but it doesn't work for me.

I do appreciate your replies and don't think I'm being rude if I can't do them. I'm just a fat piece of shit and no one should get angry about that but me (believe me, I do!)

It's true, Bombardier, that most ADs have weight gain listed as a side effect, but mirtazapine really is very famous for it. It's very good for people who can't eat and can't sleep because of their depression, but not so great if you're having trouble keeping your weight down. Have you ever taken a medication that increases your appetite?

I lost seven stone whilst taking mirtazapine. It's not easy, I stated that before, but ultimately we make the choice about what we eat. You don't gain weight if you're filling up (or even bingeing) on fruit and veg.

(And I still have an awful relationship with food, I more than understand how we use food as an emotional crutch.)

If you are not sleeping and binge eating whilst not on the medication then surely it cannot hurt to actually try what you have been prescribed?
You may find that your mood improves dramatically if you can sleep and this may stop you binge eating and you may be better able to make good food choices.

From what i can see it would appear some people experience a weight gain on this drug but others don't. It appears to affect appetite rather than just randomly making you fat. If you are feeling better emotionally you may be able to control increased appetite better?

You aren't at all. I can clearly see why your gp has prescribed antidepressants. Currently you can't see it or don't want to. You're lacking in motivation, you seem to be extremely defeatist and catastrophising everything.

What sleep routines do you have? Reduce your caffeine intake. Do you smoke?

If you know what leads you to binge what can you do to avoid the thing that leads to it?

I have tried it, blue, but having since discovered that it has the side effect of weight gain I am questioning why my G.P. prescribed it to me when that is the very thing I'm struggling so with - it's because she didn't really listen or (I feel) care.

Anyway as I say I won't complain. It's just hard when there is so little support.

Well done, Bombardier, 7 stone is amazing! Whether or not you were able to overcome the effects of mirtazapine (I don't know whether you experienced the increased appetite, but if you did, that's very impressive), I think OP is worried that an increased appetite will only make what she wants to achieve even harder, which, if there's an alternative that would work just as well (and there might be; she hasn't tried anything else yet), would be making it unnecessarily hard for herself.

I am scooby honestly, i am a horrible mess and I am IN a horrible mess and I have no idea how to extricate myself! I have been having some very black thoughts indeed and I know if I shared them people would say 'G.P.!' but the G.P. won't listen so it's a vicious circle really!

And yes, Bombardier, a very inspiring story

When you say you have tried it did you give it a proper go or did you stop taking it before it could be beneficial. AD's take a while to get into the system. I would keep taking it, see how you get on and if you feel it is not helping go back and ask for something else. There are lots they can try and people go and ask to get them changed all the time. No point complaining when you can resolve it easily by asking for another kind.