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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think this GP is talking bollocks?

69 replies

Isthiscool · 11/05/2018 17:32

I took dd to the GP with the following symptoms;
Sore throat - this was very bad but is now a bit better
Extreme tiredness
Very swollen glands including ones on the back of her head
Very sore swollen puffy eyes
Slightly nauseous

He said he wouldn't recommend a blood test because she didn't have any of the symptoms of glandular fever

Surely it's feckkng textbook glandular fever?

She's 17

OP posts:
Original poster
Isthiscool · 11/05/2018 18:17

A blood test is not important unless it changes management. Which it typically won't

Of course a blood test is important. She has A Levels as I've said a few times. If she has gf she will need a letter of consideration so it will need to be confirmed.

If it turns out that she does have gf then the GPS advice (to do nothing) was stupid and wrong.

OP posts:
Sparklingbrook · 11/05/2018 18:20

He's very much better thanks Isthis. Not back to normal but last week he was very, very ill. Temp up and down, couldn't swallow, spitting up the gunk and being sick etc. He was in a proper state.

He's back to eating normally but just feels very weak and gets tired. And he says he feels like his ears are full of water.

KevinTurvey · 11/05/2018 18:20

Is there a walk in centre locally? Can you get a second opinion?

BewareOfDragons · 11/05/2018 18:22

I would go back in and insist on a blood test if they symptoms haven't subsided by Monday.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 11/05/2018 18:25

In the meantime, it might be worth looking at things that will support her immune system and bolster her health - I’d ask in somewhere like Holland and Barrett for good quality vitamin and mineral supplements. I think zinc is supposed to support the immune system, and you can get tonics like metatone that might help her.

Good diet, plenty of fluids, gargle with aspirin for the sore throat, plenty of rest - all the normal things to help her recover if this is GF, or any virus.
Apologies if I am telling you stuff you’ve already done, but as a mum, I know that it helps to know that you are doing something.

I hope she feels better soon.

Original poster
Isthiscool · 11/05/2018 18:26

I'm glad to hear he's feeling better. Dds worst symptom is the eyes which hurt when she looks around plus feeling absolutely knackered if she does anything. She's got knobs all round her ears scapl and throat where her glands are

OP posts:
PixelAteMe · 11/05/2018 18:26

I had GF very severely at 18. My glands were so swollen in my neck that my jawline lost definition, I struggled to swallow my saliva and was too exhausted to get out of bed for days. I missed my mock A-levels, was off school for about six weeks, and when I went back I was extremely tired by the end of the day for another few weeks.
The GP told me to avoid doing sport for at least two months (not that I had the energy for it anyway!) because of an enlarged spleen. I remember the glands in my groin were like ping pong balls.

ClosDesMouches · 11/05/2018 18:27

It's an exact description of the symptoms of glandular fever that I had. Also aged 17.

PixelAteMe · 11/05/2018 18:30

You definitely need a proper diagnosis and letter from your GP if she has A-levels.
Make sure she drinks plenty of fluids, and give her chicken soup with plenty of vegetables.

TatianaLarina · 11/05/2018 18:31

Depends what you call expensive, depends on OP’s income.

If you go to a private GP you can ask how much the blood tests will be.

If money is tight, I’d go to a walk in centre or go back on Monday and insist on a test.

You don’t want to be sitting fretting for 2 weeks wondering what you’re dealing with, and you might need to organise letters etc.

Confusedbeetle · 11/05/2018 18:32

You need to try and improve your working relationship with your doctor or see another. Saying he is talking bollocks is a bad start

Hoopspoops · 11/05/2018 18:32

I had GF when I was 18 (during Uni freshers’ week as it happens). Apart from everything other PPs are describing I was told that GF comes with mild hepatitis of the liver (so the GP told me) so it was very important not to drink at all for 6 months or so after the initial symptoms had gone. I was also easily tired and had mood swings. So I would say a blood test is important to confirm diagnosis, and not just for the exams.

Peaspleaselouise · 11/05/2018 18:33

I had GF in my first year at university. My symptoms were like tonsillitis at first only much, much more severe. I too was coughing up huge chunks of gunk (completely gross and TMI I know). My glands were swollen on my neck so badly you could see it from sight (doc diagnosed me before even looking down my throat due to that), high fever, delirium (felt so ill I genuinely thought I’d died and my family had come to visit me in my coffin) and couldn’t eat. Lost a stone in weight. Had to have steroids as my throat was so swollen the tonsils were touching each other and closing up.

Unfortunately even if you have a blood test, the GF virus is notorious for not showing positive on a blood test.

Possibly could be severe tonsillitis that has knocked her for six...if she’s feeling ok enough to bear to put make up on I would think it may not be GF.

YankeeDad · 11/05/2018 18:37

I'm no doctor, but if there's a fever, then I would also want to rule out infection, which I think would require a blood test. Blood tests are not that expensive. Can you see another GP, ideally in a different practice, to get a second opinion on this?

ClosDesMouches · 11/05/2018 18:39

agree with hoops. I was also warned about not drinking alcohol for 6 months (actually it may have been longer than that), but this was nearly 40 years ago so I don't know what the advice is currently.

I wasn't able to get back to my normal daily routines for 3 months. I was doing A levels and returned to upper 6th several weeks into term, having been diagnosed in mid June. I'd say it was 6 months before I felt completely well.

CocoaGin · 11/05/2018 18:41

I had it in my first year of work, think I was 19. The tonsillitis was horrendous, and I've never been so poorly or run down. It took around 3 months to feel even remotely human again.
If I recall, it's also highly contagious from your spit?? I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I'd be hypervigilant with hygiene too . I remember my mum boil washing towels.....

Hope she's better soon.

Missingstreetlife · 11/05/2018 18:43

She should rest. It should clear. If not go back. Don't panic, still a few weeks to go but she seriously should rest and no alclohol

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 11/05/2018 18:45

Check with the school what they actually need from your GP. It’s not necessarily true that they need a diagnosis. If she’s ill at the point she sits the exams, it’s unlikely to matter whether it’s tonsillitis of glandular fever. It’s how severely it has effected her that is the important thing.

Original poster
Isthiscool · 11/05/2018 18:49

You need to try and improve your working relationship with your doctor or see another. Saying he is talking bollocks is a bad start

Oh don't be ridiculous. I didn't say to his face he was talking bollocks, in fact I did the whole cap doffing thing yes doctor thank you doctor. Wasn't until I got into the car I thought hold on a minute!

And he wasn't my normal Dr (who I haven't seen for years tbh) he was a locum, so I'll almost certainly never see him again.

OP posts:
Original poster
Isthiscool · 11/05/2018 18:50

She should rest. It should clear. If not go back. Don't panic, still a few weeks to go but she seriously should rest and no alclohol
Thank you, you are right, this is what she is doing.

OP posts:
Original poster
Isthiscool · 11/05/2018 18:52

if she’s feeling ok enough to bear to put make up on I would think it may not be GF

Grin you don't know my dd that make up is going on. I take your point though although she's had a week in bed groaning before this

OP posts:
TooMuchGreys · 11/05/2018 18:52

I had Glandular Fever at 17 around a-level time. It was awful, 10 years on and I still remember how awful! GP kept insisting it was tonsillitis until I was eventually taken to a&e by my very worried parents where it was diagnosed as GF.

Luckily my grades weren’t hugely affected in the end. But my GP did write a letter to go along with my university applications to say that I was sick during a-level exams in case I didn’t meet my predicted grades.

RideOn · 11/05/2018 18:52

It could be glandular fever, but from a medical point of view, the blood test at this stage, won't affect what you do. It is still paracetamol, plenty fluids, rest.

How long has she had the symptoms?

The blood test takes at least 1 week from the start of being unwell before it can be positive, no point doing it too soon. Even if it is negative, this doesn't rule it out and often it is then repeated 2 weeks later if they aren't fully recovered. It can even be later than this to be positive.

leghoul · 11/05/2018 18:56

A blood test does not change the clinical management of EBV
I can see your anxiety about A levels but there is no suggestion this will still be affecting her by her exam dates. Blood tests are not routinely done for viral infections. I'd give it a week, if still very troubled by it go back and state your concerns clearly. As a pp said it does not need to be diagnosed for a GP to write a letter IF it is still affecting her by her exams. But best to start off on the position that she will be fine by then.

Fruitcorner123 · 11/05/2018 18:56

When you go back make sure she hasnt taken paracetamol. I would go back to see a different doc if things haven't improved by Monday.