Waste of GP appointment?

[blacklister]

I have called our surgery today to book an appointment for my DH (he would do it himself but he's away for a fortnight abroad with work and in a different time zone) and have been told by the nurse that they won't book one.

I spoke to Reception, happily explained what the appointment is for and she said she'd get a nurse to call me. The issue is recurrent mouth ulcers. DH has had them on and off for years, but the last three months or so it's been every other week. They're very painful, large and unpleasant. Bonjela, that igloo stuff, none of it helps much. He doesn't smoke, drink heavily or eat a lot of spicy foods (all irritants) and is generally in good health.

He's been to a pharmacist who recommended a multivitamin as they can be caused by a lack of B vitamins and Corsodyl when one appears (he often has 3/4 at once).

After mentioning it in passing to his parents, turns out his Grandad, Dad and Brother all have the same issue. Grandad had a problem with retaining a specific B vitamin before he died and needed injections a few times a year.

So I explained all this when I called. Said no need for an emergency appointment obviously just a routine one when they can get him in over the next few weeks. The Nurse basically said it's a waste of the GPs time because there's nothing they can do for something that's 'intermittent' and unless he has one (or more) at the time there's no point in him coming in! They'd rather he called on the day when one comes up and take an emergency appointment.

AIBU to call back and insist on a routine appointment? Seems ridiculous to me, to take up an emergency appointment for a non-emergency!

When I went to a routine dentist appointment with an ulcer, the dentist was really interested in how often I get them and offered a trip to the dental hospital for blood tests etc. I didn't take up the offer so can't say what happened next. But if the GP isn't helpful I'd definitely try the dentist, even if you have to pay for the checkup.

It was the dentist who referred my DD to hospital for tongue tie, not GP or HV.

Blacklister

Coeliac symptoms aren't always obvious. After carrying an IBS diagnosis for a long time and just assuming I had a sensitive digestive system, earlier this year a consultant I was seeing for what I thought was an entirely different problem, a loss of sensation in my feet, did the right blood test and it came out as coeliac. I am now being investigated by gastroenterology. With hindsight, it looks as if I have had several coeliac symptoms all my life, which no doctor recognised.

I'm not saying I agree that receptionists should decide on whether someone gets an appointment, or that it is anyone else's business. But that is unfortunately the structure that exists. My point was that if you lie about the reason for attending you shouldn't assume that the GP doesn't realise or that you have somehow tricked everyone.

Get him to try folic acid, mouth ulcers can be caused by a folic acid deficiency

You should fix your B12 before your folate as it can mask the symptoms of a B12 deficiency, and get tested before supplementing so it doesn't skew the results.

I'm a GP - this is the sort of thing I'd prefer to see in a routine appointment especially with the family history, we'd need to talk about further investigation. Seeing the ulcer won't make a difference to that. I'd be a bit miffed at having an emergency appt taken up by a mouth ulcer! He could always take a photo of it if he gets one before he is seen. A dental checkup would be sensible too to ensure there isn't a simple cause like a sharp bit of tooth rubbing.