To go private AIBU?

[Andromeida59]

Hi. Backstory, in an accident nearly a year ago. Going through MIB. It's now looking like I've developed Fibromyalgia. The GP is referring me to the hospital but it's a minimum 18 week wait this will have to be followed by a visit to one of the MIN specialists. Going through the NHS it would take 8 months minimum (NHS appt and MIB appt).
If I go private I could have an appointment within a few days which means I could start treatment earlier and I could get the process moving quicker.

I feel really uncomfortable about going private. It will cost around £250 for an appointment but I could also, potentially, claim this back. I just feel confused.

As I said upthread, if enough people opt out of the NHS healthcare in the UK will go down the American route and I can think of nothing I want less

So other people shouldn’t go private but it’s ok for you to do so?

No, it's not OK for me to. I'm really struggling with it. It's actually the reverse of what you said, I'm more comfortable with other people doing it than me. I'm a staunch defender of the NHS, it was my employer for decades and I'd much prefer to have my surgery there. However, my eyes are deteriorating fast and I don't want to go blind. If it was any other surgery I'd wait.

I don’t get what you mean ‘you can’t wait to get started with treatment’? What treatment are you expecting for fibromyalgia?

A lot of people - including me - see it as elitist. I feel guilty paying for better, quicker treatment when others can't.

You could also look at it another way - you can afford to pay so you aren't taking up a place on the NHS waiting list and are therefore freeing up NHS resources for those who can't afford to go private.

That's the old argument people always use to justify it. It doesn't wash with me. Nobody's going to get seen any sooner because I'm not joining the waiting list. I'm having to compromise my principles and I don't like what that says about my moral compass or integrity.

Although I can understand people going for private treatment rather than waiting months or years in pain, I don't think the argument of not taking up time/ waiting list places that others can use holds good. If a hospital sees a reduced demand for a clinic, they won't say 'oh great, shorter waiting times!', they'll cut the budget for the department. So waiting times will be just as long and if the people who went private want to return to the NHS system it will have even less capacity to support them. Artificially lowering demand for a service will impact on the efficiency of that service.

My thinking entirely, @Silver.

Just pay for the initial consultation if you can afford that but can't afford treatment privately. Make sure you see a consultant who does NHS work too local to you and ask to be moved onto their NHS list after the initial consultation.

Thanks for the replies. I don't actually find Tramodol too bad. In regard to the treatment, I'm guessing it would be more of the same. I would like the condition recognised as it would make things better at work for me. I am just sick of being trapped on waiting lists.

It's been nearly a year now since my accident and I still feel like it's holding me to ransom. I have to have numerous appointments where I have to go over the events, time and time again. I'm exhausted and I want it all to be over. My mental health is probably at the lowest point it's been for a very, very long time.

Of course I feel conflicted about going private, I wouldn't have posted here if I didn't.

Just pay for the initial consultation if you can afford that but can't afford treatment privately. Make sure you see a consultant who does NHS work too local to you and ask to be moved onto their NHS list after the initial consultation.
Now, that is what I'd call cheeky queue jumping.

OP, I really sympathise with your position, as I said up thread I was involved in a compensation claim. I recommend you separate the two issues for now. If you are hoping to get private diagnoses, investigation and care and then have that covered by the insurers they will fight that and it will drag your claim out much more.

That doesn’t mean you can’t do that or shouldn’t but it will slow the process down, maybe by a very long time. What does your solicitor advise?

Focus on getting well or as well as you can and only think about the accident when you have to. Let your solicitor do the thinking and take their advice on the best way to proceed. Have you discussed any of this with your GP? A referral to a pain clinic may be helpful, you don’t need a formal diagnosis. Pain management courses can be good. As can gentle yoga and other exercise, mindfulness and the correct combination of meds ( pain clinic speciality).

Pm me if you want to chat about the compensation claim stuff, I know how stressful and wearing it is.

Hi, I developed fibro after an accident, although not a car accident. I also sued for compensation.

When my doctor suspected fibro I started meds (amitryptaline and naproxen), and was referred to rhuemotolgist. The rhuemotolgist literally did a simple physical exam and pressure point test, and asked a lot of questions (blood tests and scans had ruled other things out). He increased my dose of amitryptaline, gave me leaflet and referred me to specialists physio. That's it.

I had the option of going private (and potentially be able to claim it back) but decided against it as I didn't want to end up having to pay for any long term private treatment (like the physio £40+ per session) and didn't want to have to switch to nhs half way through treatment if things got too expensive. Also if they wanted to do their own or additional scans it can get very costly (I had a private arthogram scan once which was billed at £500)

In your position I probably would try and see if GP will increase your medication dosage whilst you wait for the referral to come though. And ask about other treatments like hydrotherapy.

In terms of the insurance claim it is virtually impossible to prove the cause of fibromyalgia. An independent GP has to say on the balance of probability's the accident was the cause - and generally they won't as there are too many factors, and other potential causes. Also their is thinking that people can be pre-disposed to conditions like fibro, so they said the fact I had IBS, hyper mobility and had suffered with stress previously were all indicators, and therefore fibro is not the accidents fault. They will have access to everything in your medical history to use against you - the fact I had neck pain for 1 week when I was 9 was bought up.

I took a settlement agreement in the end, as I wasn't going to prove the fibro link, and could end up loosing money if I went to court.

If you can't prove the fibro link you won't be able to claim back the cost of private treatment for fibro in your insurance claim. And any money you receive in compensation may not cover cost of private treatment either.

Sorry to be a bit a doom and gloom! Just be very wary and don't take on any costs that you can't comfortably cover if things don't go your way.

I look at it this way. By paying privately I’m not opting out of financially supporting the NHS. I’m still paying income tax. Also, I’m freeing up some NHS capacity by not using it. So I’ll continue to pay for private treatment if I need to do so.

Perhaps you should read @Silverdragonfly's post to see why that argument is flawed.

It's been nearly a year now since my accident and I still feel like it's holding me to ransom. I have to have numerous appointments where I have to go over the events, time and time again. I'm exhausted and I want it all to be over. My mental health is probably at the lowest point it's been for a very, very long time.

My friend has fibromyalgia... 7 years on and she has really bad flare ups (on top of the chronic symptoms) several times a year where she ends up re-explaining everything in detail again to multiple professionals.

I get the need for a diagnosis, I really do, but it will be the start of an even longer journey that, from an outsiders perspective, looks like shit.

Oh and my friend was diagnosed privately, after a car accident. In all it cost her around 2.5k with all the tests and she didn't get a pay out because her medical history suggested she was predisposed to it i think.

Thanks everyone for the responses. I was checked for Fibro a few years ago and was told I didn't have it.
I think I'm just fed up. I'm going to do what a PP stated and just ask for an increase in dosage. I do need to separate my health from the compensation claim, I know that it's just hard to do. I have another MIB appointment on Thursday so that doesn't really help.

I need to pull myself together but I honestly don't have the energy to do so.

Thank you all x

Perhaps you should read @Silverdragonfly's post to see why that argument is flawed.

If that’s directed at me Bluelady, there’s no need to get arsey with me. I’m not the one that has a problem with paying for private treatment so whether or not you think my argument is flawed is really of no consequence to me.

If you think that was arsey, you clearly lead a very sheltered life.

Just a quick comment on nefopam - many CCGs don't allow nefopam to be prescribed by GPs only consultants due to cost .